KATHMANDU, Dec 12: With ambitions swelling inside the CPN-UML and more leaders eyeing key posts, the party is once again gearing up to amend its statute—just three months after revising it at the Second Statute Convention. The party now appears ready to revert to its earlier structure. One of the final Secretariat meetings of this UML term is set for Friday afternoon in Chyasal, Lalitpur at 1 PM.
Friday’s meeting will discuss nominated representatives for the general convention, proposed statute amendments, and the modality for operating the convention. Although the party has not formally circulated the agenda, insiders say a proposal is being prepared to expand the number of office bearers, revive the Standing Committee, and increase the size of the Central Committee—reintroducing structures that had already been endorsed at the statute convention.
The 10th General Convention held in Chitwan in 2021 had fixed 19 office bearers, including the chair, one senior vice-chair, six vice-chairs, three deputy general secretaries, and seven secretaries. While that arrangement still stands, the senior vice-chair post and the Standing Committee—scrapped during the statute convention—are now set to return. Leaders close to Senior Vice-Chair Ishwar Pokhrel argue that UML Chair KP Sharma Oli is pushing amendments because the number of aspirants within his own faction has increased.
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According to UML insiders, Oli has already directed leaders to amend the statute passed during the Godawari Statute Convention held from September 5–7. The move follows a surge in aspirants seeking positions from the central member level to top office bearer roles. Sources further claim that the push to restore old structures is also aimed at preventing leaders and cadres from rallying behind Pokhrel, who has announced that he will challenge Oli for the top post.
The statute convention had reduced the number of office bearers to 15—comprising the chair, three vice-chairs, one general secretary, three deputy general secretaries, and seven secretaries. At the time, leaders such as Surendra Pandey and Yogesh Bhattarai had warned that the reduced structure would eventually require correction and should be amended immediately. Oli, however, dismissed that suggestion and backed an amendment proposed by Vice-Chair Bishnu Paudel. The Pokhrel faction now argues that altering the statute at this stage is unnecessary and undermines earlier decisions.
UML Vice-Chair Astalaxmi Shakya has also criticized the leadership, saying the focus should be on generational leadership transfer, not statute revisions. “Representatives have already been chosen. Amending the statute now is unacceptable,” she said.
Shakya added that leaders who have contributed significantly should be honored and allowed to transition leadership gracefully. “KP ji has contributed, and Ishwar ji has contributed even more. But Oli ji should rest now. He has reached an age where continuing in leadership can create problems. After leading for 11 years, he has already shown his capacity,” she said. She reminded that Oli himself had previously proposed a two-year term limit and a 70-year age cap. “Based on that principle, we have put forward Ishwar ji,” she said.
Karan Thapa, another leader from the Pokhrel camp, also objected to the amendment push. “If the statute was meant to be amended, why hold the Statute Convention at all? We had said then that future situations might require modification, but that was ignored,” he said.
Sensing resistance from the Pokhrel camp, Oli’s faction is reportedly preparing to increase the number of senior vice-chairs, vice-chairs, and secretaries. The Pokhrel group insists that if any amendment is made, the two-term limit and the 70-year age limit must remain intact. They argue that reversing the statute convention’s decisions would set a damaging precedent.
With both factions firm in their positions, Friday’s Secretariat meeting is expected to be highly contentious.
