Oli-Dahal meeting ends inconclusively as intra-party conflict within ruling NCP grows further

KATHMANDU, Nov 5: A meeting between the two chairpersons of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ended inconclusively on Thursday.

The meeting, which took place at the Oli’s official residence in Baluwatar, failed to make any headway as the relations between two top leaders has worsened further in recent days, NCP sources said. 

The meeting between the two leaders came at a time when the NCP’s intra-party rift has further widened over a host of issues including the controversy that surfaced in the party following the whirlwind visit of Samant Goel, the chief of Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), that took place more than two weeks ago. The two leaders were also at odds over the appointment of ambassadors and new ministers in the cabinet.

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Today's meeting came a day after Prime Minister Oli alleged that leaders within the party were trying to oust him power and that he would not step down in any circumstances. 

Earlier this week, NCP’s General Secretary said that his party is currently facing “a serious existential crisis”.Poudel, who is one of the close confidants of NCP Chairman and Prime Minister Oli and the finance minister in his Cabinet, wrote on Twitter that the “unified existence of the NCP has witnessed a serious crisis”.

Poudel’s remarks came a day after chairperson Oli told Dahal that the party should split. However, the Dahal faction of the party is trying to convince Oli that the party should not split and serious differences should be resolved through consensus.  

Meanwhile, NCP chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal held a meeting with a group of constitutional experts on Thursday. 

The meeting which took place at Parisdanda in the capital was focused on the constitutional and legal crisis that the country may face if Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli takes some political moves amid intra-party rift within the ruling party. Advocate Govinda Bandi was one of the legal experts who attended the meeting.