The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has deferred its Standing Committee meeting till Monday in an attempt to reconcile differences among party co-chairs, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal.
The rival faction of the NCP has demanded Oli’s resignation, while some other leaders have asked him to quit both posts of Prime Minister and party co-chair, The Himalayan Times reported.
Oli has, however, refused to quit.
According to Standing Committee member Haribol Gajurel, the stalemate continues with both Oli and Dahal sticking to their guns.
Dahal told Oli on Saturday that despite the agreement between them on leading the government by turns, he had given the latter the full five-year term, but the Prime Minister failed to run the country well and there was growing frustration in the party, according to Gajurel.
Apart from holding one-on-one negotiations, Oli and Dahal are also talking through their confidants to find a middle path.
NCP leaders have to consider the possibility that any attempt by the Dahal-Nepal faction to unseat the Prime Minister could lead to a vertical split of the party along with consequences not only at the central level but also the provincial and local levels.
“A vertical split amid the coronavirus pandemic could invite political instability, which could reverse all the hard earned political changes,” The Himalayan Times quoted Laurel as saying.