Nepal political turmoil: Back-to-back meetings ahead of crucial Monday meet to decide PM Oli’s fate

While a crucial meeting of Nepal’s ruling communist party to decide the political future of embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has been postponed until Monday, former PM and co-chair of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and other opposing groups on Sunday met President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Madhav Nepal and Jhanalanth Khanal — met Bhandari and clarified that the rumour about the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders trying to remove her from office was untrue.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli held an emergency meeting of the Cabinet on Sunday and had said that some of the members of the ruling communist party are also trying to remove President Bidya Devi Bhandari from power.

Oli, at the emergency meet, said that the NCP is facing a grave crisis, indicating that it may split soon.

“Now, conspiracies are being hatched to remove me from the post of the prime minister and party chairman,” the prime minister said on Saturday, adding that he will not let it happen. The ruling party is facing a grave crisis, Oli said.

Meanwhile, after wrapping up the meeting with President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prachanda also reached PM Oli’s official residence in Baluwatar to hold further talks in a bid to erase fractures between the top leadership of the ruling party. However, meeting between PM KP Sharma Oli and co-chair of and Prachanda on Sunday ended without any conclusion.

Breather for Oli

On Saturday, a crucial meeting of the NCP’s 45-member powerful Standing Committee to decide the political future of Oli was postponed until Monday to allow more time for the top leadership to iron out their differences over his style of functioning and anti-India statements.

During the Cabinet meeting, a defiant Oli had said that he will not be forced to accept the party’s Standing Committee decision.

He also urged the ministers to make their position clear whether they support him or not.

“I had to make a quick decision to prorogue the budget session of Parliament last week after coming to know that some of our party members were hatching conspiracy to register an impeachment motion against the President at Parliament,” Oli told the ministers.

Surya Thapa, the prime minister’s press aide, said that the prime minister invited the ministers to share the latest political developments in the country.

Prior to the meeting, Oli held a one-on-one meeting with President Bhandari at her office in Maharajgunj.

Oli’s statement comes at a time when the intra-party rift in the NCP is at its peak after majority of the party’s Standing Committee members and Central Secretariat members demanded his immediate resignation from the post of Prime Minister and party chairman, accusing the government of failing to live up to the people’s expectations.

He has accused NCP executive chairman Prachanda of non-cooperation in running the government while Prachanda is accusing Oli of imposing hegemony in the party.

PM KP Sharma Oli accuses India

Prime Minister Oli, 68, last week claimed that there have been various kinds of activities in the “embassies and hotels” to remove him from power.

He said some Nepalese leaders were also involved in the plot after his government redrew the country’s political map by incorporating three strategically key Indian territories — Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.

KP Sharma Oli had accused India of trying to destabilise his government and has alleged the Indian Embassy in Nepal was conspiring about the same.

PM Oli claimed that conspiracies were being plotted against him since the constitutional amendment showing Indian land in Nepali map.

Raising baseless accusations against India and leaders of his own party by the Prime Minister was not appropriate, a senior leader of the party quoted Prachanda as saying during the Standing Committee meeting last week.

Differences between the two factions of NCP

Prachanda has time and again spoken about the lack of coordination between the government and the party and he was pressing for a one-man one position system to be followed by the NCP.

The differences between the two factions of the NCP — one led by Oli and the other led by Prachanda — intensified after the prime minister unilaterally decided to prorogue the budget session of Parliament last week.

In May 2018, when Oli and Dahal announced formation of the Nepal Communist Party, they had reached a gentleman’s agreement to lead the government in turn, two-and-a-half-years each.

But according to the November 2019 agreement, Oli would lead the government for the full five-year term and Dahal would run the party as “executive chairman”.

Dahal has maintained that Oli failed to uphold the spirit of the November 2019 agreement, hence he should abide by the May 2018 gentleman’s agreement, making way for him to lead the government.