KATHMANDU, Dec 22: As the final preparation to announce a formal split in the party, rival factions led by KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) are holding separate central committee meetings in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
The Oli-led faction is currently holding its central committee meeting at the official residence of the prime minister in Baluwatar, while the rival faction led by Dahal is convening its central committee meeting at 1 pm at a party venue in Babarmahal.
Three leaders namely Lekh Raj Bhatta, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Mani Thapa, who previously belonged to the Dahal faction, have joined the central committee meeting called by Oli.
After split, NCP rival factions holding separate central commit...
The parallel central committee meetings of the party comes three days after the Oli-led government decided to dissolve the House of Representatives and announce midterm elections next year.
Both factions of the party have intensified their efforts to retain official party recognition along with the election symbol. The two factions are now busy making strategies to wrest control of the party.
On Monday, the Dahal-led faction informed the Election Commission of the party’s Standing Committee’s decision to take action against chairperson Oli for breaching party discipline. Janardan Sharma, a Standing Committee member close to Dahal, said that today's Central Committee meeting will endorse the Standing Committee’s recommendation to take action against chairperson Oli.
At a factional gathering of lawmakers of the dissolved House of Representatives close to him on Monday, Dahal told leaders that his faction would get the EC’s official recognition since it has two-thirds majority in the party.
