UMaul District Chairs in Koshi Province Favor Reorganization Except for Jhapa

2 Ashar, Biratnagar – Within the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) [CPN-UML], debates over leadership changes have intensified following unexpected results in the House of Representatives election. Discussions on election reviews and party restructuring have seen leaders advocate for leadership transformations from the central to ward levels. During a province-level review meeting held in Biratnagar on Tuesday, leaders expressed that the current leadership can no longer advance the UML forward. According to participating leaders, most district chairs have supported the view that leadership should be reorganized to progress. While the chair from Ilam was absent, Jhapa’s chair, Prem Giri, expressed dissatisfaction with the reorganization debate. He said, “Reorganization isn’t something to rush. We have just completed the General Convention; why hurry at this time? Voter regrets started within two to three months after the election, so why rush to reorganization already?”

Except for Jhapa, the home district of UML Chair KP Oli, district chairs in other areas agreed that advancing with the current leadership is not feasible. “Some colleagues were direct; others were more circumspect, but all agreed that the movement cannot proceed under the existing leadership,” a leader attending the meeting said. “The question wasn’t just about Chair KP Oli but about the entire leadership.” UML leader Binod Dhakal drew a parallel to the Mahabharata, referring to Arjuna’s bow Gandiva failing to function after the war ended. Speaking at the review meeting, Dhakal said, “After the Mahabharata war, Arjuna’s Gandiva ceased to work on the return journey. The question is raised about the failure of not just the chair but all ‘Pandavas’ (office bearers) in UML to carry out their responsibilities.” He urged a serious review of leadership before moving forward.

Chair KP Oli addressed the meeting virtually, attributing the election setback primarily to a “digital weakness.” He argued that the government led by him failed to effectively communicate development achievements and good governance to the public, and could not counter the misleading propaganda run by the opposition. “The opposition spread misinformation about the exceptional work our government accomplished,” Oli said. “We failed to promote the truth and to refute untrue and false propaganda against us in time.” He also noted that organized misinformation campaigns against the party played a role in damaging UML’s reputation.

Ghanashyam Khatiwada, UML Chair for Koshi, stated that the review meeting focused on how to make UML a better and more people-friendly party. “Many colleagues spoke, and all discussions centered on how to strengthen the party,” he noted. “One or two also raised the issue of leadership reorganization.”