KATHMANDU: Chairman of the proposed CPN-Unified Socialist Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that Chief Minister of Bagmati Pradesh Ashta Lakshmi Shakya vied for the post at his advice.

Speaking at a press conference after the proposed Unified Socialist’s Central Committee meeting held at Chandragiri Resort on Monday, Nepal said that Shakya became the Chief Minister on his own advice.

“She, Ashtalakshmi Shakya, has become the Chief Minister as per my wishes and suggestions. But he is also in a dilemma,” he said, adding, “They (the leaders who had been supporting him before but are still in CPN-UML) have the right to choose the party within 21 days of registration.”

Nepal seemed confident that more leaders would join his party in a couple of weeks or so.

He tried to justify his formation of new party saying Chairman KP Oli compelled them to do so.

“The party had to split because of Oli. We have been forced to form a united (socialist) party after the chairman Oli took to extremely whimsical decisions,” leader Nepal said, claiming, “We have more than the required percentage in both the central committee and parliament to form a new party.”

He alleged that UML Chairman Oli turned the party into a private company of the people who extolled him as ‘ba'( father).