UML nominates 11 for central committee

KATHMANDU, April 29: After months-long hiatus, a standing committee meeting of CPN-UML recommended names of 11 leaders to promote to the party´s central committee.



Those recommended by the party´s top body are Ganesh Kambang from Panchthar district, Sherdhan Rai and Rajendra Rai from Bhojpur, Ramdayal Mandal from Mahottari, Keshav Lal Shrestha from Chitwan, Chandra Bahadur Shahi from Mugu, Sher Bahadur Tamang from Sindhupalchowk, Ek Bahadur Rana from Tanahun and Sanu Shrestha from Kathmandu district.[break]



Similarly, other two leaders Subas Nembang and Gyan Bahadur Bhujel have also been recommended to be appointed as central committee members.



The UML top body picked the new leaders to the post as altogether 15 positions in the central committee and other positions remained vacant after a group of six central level leaders quit the party to form Federal Socialist Party under the leadership of the then CPN-UML Vice-chairman Ashok Rai last year.



Politburo member Ram Chandra Jha recently defected to the UCPN (Maoist). Ravindra Shrestha was expelled from the party as he eloped with a girl and went out of contact. One more post fell vacant with the death of UML leader Dilli Bahadur Mahat.



Similarly, the party has a provision of nominating five percent of the 116 central committee members and these nominations were a long overdue. As per this provision, six members have to be nominated.



Kambang, Sherdhan, Rajendra, Mandal, Keshav Lal, Shahi, Tamang, Rana and Sanu Shrestha were nominated to replace those who quit the party in a group led by Ashok Rai. These members were selected on the basis of the leaders´ understanding to nominate from the same ethnic communities that the defectors represented. Most of those defectors and the proposed leaders represent ethnic, indigenous or Madhes-based communities. Shahi proposed to replace Dilli Bahadur Mahat, who passed away some months ago, as both of them represented Karnali, which is classified as underdeveloped area.



Former Constituent Assembly Chairman Nembang and Bhujel however were nominated under the open five percent quota. "Other members to be nominated under this category are yet to be recommended," General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel told Republica.

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