KATHMANDU: The CPN-UML Secretariat meeting, held for the first time since the March 5 election, concluded on Sunday after nearly 10 hours of discussion, with party Chair KP Sharma Oli responding to concerns raised by leaders.
Deputy General Secretary Lekh Raj Bhatta said the meeting ended following Oli’s address.
The central issue during the meeting was whether Oli should step down from the party leadership. After most office bearers suggested that Oli should voluntarily pave the way for new leadership, Oli reportedly responded with visible dissatisfaction.
At the beginning of the meeting, Oli acknowledged that the Secretariat meeting could not be held for a long time due to his health condition and what he described as an “attempted arrest” by the Rastriya Swatantra Party.
He also claimed that he had received information about various conspiracies being plotted against him and insisted that the delay in holding the meeting was not intentional.
Compared to previous sessions, Oli appeared more defensive during Sunday’s meeting. He maintained that he had become party chair through an established process and procedure, and therefore could not simply leave the position because some leaders demanded it.
Among UML’s 19 office bearers, all except four reportedly hinted that Oli should make way for new leadership. Despite this, Oli said he welcomed the concerns raised by leaders.
“The party must remain united, disciplined and focused. Attacks against the UML from outside forces continue. In the current situation, unity within the party is indispensable. We should not become divided at such a time,” Oli said during the meeting.
“If discussions about division within the party are taking place outside, they should stop. Let us discuss further after the review and restructuring task force submits its report,” he added.
Central Committee meeting after review report
Oli proposed that the election review task force submit its report within a month and that the Central Committee meeting be held afterward.
Although several leaders demanded that the meeting be convened by June, Oli insisted that it would not be appropriate to move ahead before receiving the report. He proposed holding the meeting during the second week of Asar.
After disagreements surfaced, the responsibility to finalize the meeting date was handed to Oli and General Secretary Shankar Pokharel.
“The task force will prepare suggestions on what policies, leadership style, work culture and behavior need to change. The party will move forward based on those recommendations after the Central Committee meeting,” Oli said.
He further stated that had the situation truly required it, he would have stepped aside himself, but added that the current circumstances neither justified such a move nor allowed him to be pressured into resignation.
One leader present at the meeting said Oli’s proposal to wait for the review report before making decisions made it difficult for others to object openly.
Oli questions demand for leadership change
During the meeting, Oli reportedly questioned why all responsibility for the party’s current situation was being placed solely on him while other office bearers avoided accountability.
He argued that the present political circumstances were not created by him alone and expressed frustration that some leaders appeared pleased when domestic and foreign forces targeted party leaders.
At times emotional and at times aggressive, Oli said he agreed with the need to reform the party but rejected the idea that leadership change alone would solve all problems.
“Most Secretariat members said the party should move ahead through reform. But I alone should not bear all the responsibility,” Oli said.
“There is no culture in the party where someone stays in leadership just because others ask them to, or leaves immediately because others demand it,” he added.
Oli emphasized that since he had assumed leadership through a formal process, any leadership transition should also happen through due process. He said he would accept the Central Committee’s decision after the review process was completed.
Growing pressure within UML
According to a senior UML leader, preparations are underway for nearly 200 members of the party’s 301-member Central Committee to openly oppose Oli during the upcoming meeting.
“We are still pressuring the leadership to convene the Central Committee meeting as soon as possible,” the leader said. “There is now a growing belief that those who can no longer lead effectively should not continue holding on to positions.”
Leaders who were once considered close Oli allies are also increasingly advocating generational change within the party.
Leaders including Mahesh Basnet and former Law Minister Padam Giri have reportedly argued that the party’s first-generation leadership should take honorable voluntary retirement.
While Oli’s position does not appear immediately threatened, discussions are reportedly underway about the possibility of removing him through an early or special general convention after the Central Committee meeting.
Even leaders who were previously elected with Oli’s backing — including Vice Chairs Bishnu Paudel and Prithvi Subba Gurung, Deputy General Secretary Lekh Raj Bhatta, and Secretaries Sherdhan Rai, Hikmat Karki and Chhabilal Bishwakarma — are now seen as favoring leadership alternatives, signaling growing pressure on Oli within the party.
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