A bitter face-off is likely between Sushil Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba factions in the party´s Central Working Committee (CWC) on Sunday as president Koirala has sought resignations of the chiefs of Tarun Dal and Nepal Women´s Association (NWA), something Deuba faction has strongly opposed. [break]
Koirala “requested” Tarun Dal President Mahendra Yadav and NWA Chairperson Ambika Basnet to step down shortly after Nepal Student´s Union (NSU) President Pradip Paudel tendered his resignation amid a heated debate in CWC.
CWC member Gopal Man Shrestha, who is close to Deuba faction, claimed Koirala´s “request” to chiefs of Tarun Dal and NWA is a ploy to dissolve the party´s district committees in which he does not have a sway. “Koirala has asked them to resign. But they won´t resign. This in the long run is an attempt to dissolve the party´s district committees not in his favor,” he told Republica.
Shrestha said they will strongly raise the issue during the CWC meeting on Sunday.
With the president´s fresh bid to dissolve Tarun Dal and NWA, the already troubled relationship between the two NC factions has turned from bad to worse. While the establishment faction has accused Deuba faction of non-cooperation in running the party, Deuba faction has maintained the establishment faction is trying to consolidate its position in all bodies of the party.
The souring relations between the two factions have also reduced the chances of getting Koirala´s nominations endorsed amicably at the central committee. Koirala has nominated Ram Chandra Paudel for the post of party´s vice president and Krishna Prasad Sitaula for general secretary.
Though Deuba faction has been maintaining that they should be given either vice president or general secretary, Koirala is adamant on getting his nominations endorsed.
Deuba faction is for resolution of issues related to appointments in the party´s bodies through a “package deal”. “He [Koirala] seems to be in no mood to resolve the issue through talks,” said a CWC member close to Koirala.
However, party unity is likely to be seriously affected even if Koirala´s nomination proposal gets endorsed through the CWC. “Party unity is bound to be affected if the president gets his nomination proposal endorsed by majority,” said the CWC member seeking anonymity.
While Koirala is on a visit to districts including Dhanusha and Udayapur, Deuba is in Singapore for treatment. “No talks have been held to resolve differences between the two factions. This is very unfortunate,” said CWC member Shekhar Koirala.
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