The vice-chairperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party has said he would not be involved in any faction of the party.
The declaration by Bamdev Gautam comes days after he made a proposal to help Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s leadership, as the intra-party conflict between the factions headed by Oli and another president, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has not been resolved for the last few days.
As told by Gautam’s assistant, Bishwamani Subedi, when Dahal met Gautam at his residence in Lalitpur’s Bhaisepati this morning, Gautam said, “I’m not going to be involved in any of the factions, big or small.” Gautam clarified that he was not for or against a specific leader, but, according to Subedi, he was determined to achieve party unity.
Meanwhile, KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, accompanied by Subas Chandra Nembang and Jhala Nath Khanal respectively, held a meeting at the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar on 3rd August morning in their bid to find a solution, but to no avail. Sources say both sides are adamant about their stances.
When the standing committee meeting of the party began on June 24, Dahal had demanded the resignation of Oli from party chair and prime minister positions, accusing him of failure.
Nevertheless, Oli refused even to give up one spot, leading the group to a stalemate that lasted for months. Following the conflict, the standing committee meeting was repeatedly postponed without any item on the set agenda being discussed.
In addition to the dispute over resignation, the leaders now have different opinions about resuming the halted standing committee meeting. Oli wants to postpone the meeting for now and seek a solution through the secretariat whereas Dahal is pressing him to resume the meeting as soon as possible.