KATHMANDU, Nov 3: Despite its pledge to increase organized membership to one million by the 11th General Convention, the CPN-UML has achieved only about 70 percent of its target. Four years ago, during the 10th General Convention held in Chitwan, the UML had more than 800,000 organized members when selecting representatives.
Over the past four years, around 130,000 cadres have failed to renew their party membership. As of now, the UML has a total of 667,630 organized members. This number will serve as the basis for selecting representatives for the upcoming 11th General Convention.
Two years ago, the then-organization department chief, Kashinath Adhikari, had announced that the party was committed to increasing its membership to one million before the next convention. He had claimed that the reduction in membership was not a decline but a correction of past errors, adding that the party would reach one million before holding the convention.
“The attempt was made to correct mistakes made during the 10th General Convention. At that time, names of members who had already joined the CPN (Unified Socialist) remained unchanged, while a large number of members were added improperly during the NCP (Nepal Communist Party) period,” Adhikari had stated in a press release.
Minister assaults party leaders and cadres
During the 10th General Convention, the UML had claimed to have around 800,000 members, but later clarified that the figure was inflated and pledged to increase membership for the next convention. “In the past, membership renewal used to be done only after each general convention, allowing inactive members to renew as well,” the statement said. “Due to irregularities—such as leadership aspirants paying membership fees for others or influencing committee decisions—the numbers were artificially increased.”
Following that clarification, UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli repeatedly expressed his commitment to reaching the one-million-member mark by the 11th General Convention. However, UML Publicity Department Chief Rajendra Gautam explained that the previous membership figure of 800,000 included groups that had merged from other parties, including the Maoist Centre.
“At that time, some members had joined the UML from the Maoist Centre and other groups. Currently, the entire membership consists solely of UML cadres. While some former Maoist members remain within the UML, many have returned to their original party,” Gautam said.
He also claimed that membership has actually increased compared to the past. “In 2081 BS, the membership was around 502,000. Now, it has reached 667,000. So, it hasn’t declined — it has grown,” he said, adding, “Our goal to reach one million members still stands, and we are working toward it.”
As the UML prepares for its 11th General Convention scheduled for December, the number of organized members eligible for representation has decreased. The party has divided constituencies based on the number of organized members for the selection of representatives.
According to the plan, 45 representatives will be selected from provincial committees, 970 from federal constituencies, 47 from special districts, 81 from the Dalit community, 49 from trade unions, 30 from the diaspora, 33 from central departments and offices, and 127 from sister organizations. Additionally, 5 percent of the total representatives will be nominated and include ex officio members, bringing the total to around 2,100 representatives.
Among the ex officio members, 354 will be from the Central Committee, 29 from the Disciplinary Commission, 30 from the Accounts Commission, 25 from the Advisory Council, and 25 from the Election Commission, totaling 464.
The UML has announced that its 11th General Convention will be held in Kathmandu from December 13 to 15. The party has also set December 1 as the date for nationwide representative selection.
