KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai has formally registered a four-point dissent against the decisions of the party’s Central Committee Secretariat meeting, citing serious shortcomings in the candidate selection process for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March .
Bhattarai registered his dissent at the party office on Sunday, a day after the Secretariat meeting. In his note, he said the process of selecting candidates was carried out without clear criteria and was influenced by internal factional competition, posing a risk to party unity.
He stated that the absence of clear, equal and fair standards in candidate selection allowed leadership preference and favoritism to dominate over merit, capability, intellectual strength, party loyalty and continuity. According to him, individuals with similar qualifications were treated differently in different constituencies, preventing the party’s decisions from receiving unanimous nationwide support.
Bhattarai further noted that rivalries from the recently concluded 11th National Convention were clearly reflected in the selection of both proportional and first-past-the-post candidates. He warned that this trend weakens internal unity and undermines the principle that a political party should represent unity amid diversity, calling it a serious mistake in the current decision-making process.
He also pointed out that when influential leaders contest and win in challenging constituencies, it boosts morale among grassroots cadres, citing Madan Bhandari’s candidacy and victory from Kathmandu-1 in the 2048 BS election as an example.
However, he said the recent tendency of senior leaders moving from their traditional constituencies to safer seats has sent a negative message and resulted in injustice to committed cadres with lesser institutional power.
Bhattarai argued that had candidates been selected on the basis of objective criteria, the party could have achieved unprecedented unity and generated widespread enthusiasm in the election campaign. He described the current decision as a serious lapse.
While registering his dissent, Bhattarai clarified that a review of party decisions would be conducted at an appropriate time.
For now, he said the party’s top priority should be ensuring the victory of UML candidates and urged all leaders and cadres to remain united and actively engage in the election campaign without distraction.
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