Last ditch effort at reconciliation fails

KATHMANDU, Jan 12: The third largest party in the Constituent Assembly, CPN-UML, which holds the key to the current political deadlock, has landed in deep turmoil after last-minute reconciliation efforts between its two rival factions failed.

A dinner-meeting among the top three UML leaders-- Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, party Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and senior leader K P Sharma Oli-- held at the prime minister´s residence ended inconclusively.

The meeting was brokered by the party´s "third front" leaders-- a group of 16 moderate politburo members who are not associated with either the Khanal or Nepal-Oli camp.

The group proposed that the top three parties-- Maoists, NC and UML-- should agree to lead the government on a rotation basis and the NC should first get such a chance. "We said even the UML can lead the government first if the NC and Maoists agree," said a member of the third front who was at the Baluwatar meeting.

The third front pleaded that such an understanding should be reached by tomorrow morning, before the voting in parliament, so that the UML won´t have to vote against the NC´s prime ministerial candidate, Ram Chandra Paudel.

"We argued that the current democratic alliance should not be broken since it will not help conclude the peace process, nor will it help the democratic transformation of the Maoist party," said the leader. However, Chairman Khanal put forth the counter argument that the Maoists’ transformation will be impossible if they are isolated.

The third-front´s proposal clearly failed to enthuse party Chairman Khanal. "He wasn´t interested in our proposal and insisted that the voting in parliament tomorrow should conclude first and only after that should political consultations begin," said another leader present at the dinner-meeting.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW?

Further reconciliation effort between the two rival camps is unlikely tomorrow before voting in the prime minister´s election starts in the afternoon. Since the UML´s standing committee meeting decided earlier in the day to vote against NC candidate Paudel as per the decision of the last central committee meeting, UML lawmakers are likely to cast their votes in parliament according to the party line.

PRIME MINISTER DEMANDED CC MEETING

During the party´s standing committee meeting, Prime Minister Nepal formally tabled the signatures of 30 central committee members, demanding a party CC meeting Wednesday morning to review a previous decision to stand against Paudel´s candidacy.

Earlier, about 45 CC members loyal to the Nepal-Oli faction had gathered at the prime minister´s official residence at Baluwatar and started a signature campaign to press the chairman to call the CC meeting on Wednesday morning.

Nepal and Oli lobbied intensely in favor of Paudel after NC leaders on Monday warned the UML that they would terminate their alliance with the UML if the latter votes against Paudel. While a group of leaders led by the chairman is actively working to garner support in favor of forming a Khanal-headed government, the Nepal-Oli faction has argued that the current democratic coalition must be kept intact.

The party chairman, however, rejected the call and said the central committee meeting will be held only after the voting in parliament. According to the party statute, the chairman will be compelled to call the central committee meeting within 15 days if a majority of the central committee members so demand in writing.

According to one leader, there was heated debate at the meeting between Nepal and Khanal as well as other leaders after Chairman Khanal refused to call the central committee meeting. In the SC, Vice-chairperson Bidya Bhandari and Secretaries Bishnu Paudel and Shankar Pokharel back the Nepal-Oli faction while Vice-chairmen Bamdev Gautam and Ashok Rai and Secretary Yuvaraj Gyawali are loyal to Khanal. Another SC member, Bharat Mohan Adhikari, is with neither camp.

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