UML quarrels in Sunsari convention organizing committee
BIRATNAGAR: NOV. 14 – CPN-UML’s dispute over Sunsari is escalating. The dispute has erupted in the district of CPN-UML secretary and state in-charge Bhim Acharya. While the election of delegates in other districts was unanimous, the UML in Sunsari could not reach an internal dispute and the election of the delegates of the 14th General Convention has started.
The election of representatives has become controversial due to the internal squabbles of the party. Due to inter-opposition, four times more nominations have been registered for the convention delegates. From the legislative provision of 42 general convention delegates to be elected from Sunsari, 188 people have registered their nominations.
Office Secretary Ram Koirala said that the UML Sunsari has made public the election schedule for the election on November 16 as it was not possible to elect a delegate to the General Convention unanimously. He said that the election schedule and polling stations of four constituencies have also been finalized.
Leaders have been saying that there is no possibility of consensus even though there are still two days left for protesting and withdrawing names in the nomination of candidates. Sunday is the day to protest the claim and Monday is the time to return the name. It is time to return the name within the time of Nov. 15. Koirala says that if the names are not returned unanimously by that time, voting will be held from 8 am to 4 am on Nov. 16.
Dispute in the district conference organizing committee
Widespread dissatisfaction has been seen among the leaders and cadres in the formation of the UML Sunsari District Convention Organizing Committee. UML leader Dwariklal Chaudhary had snatched the microphone at the venue after the leaders formed a conference organizing committee under the convener ship of Khemraj Pokhrel.
While he was talking, Pokharel went to the stage and grabbed the microphone. A group including UML leader Ramesh Basnet did not attend the program. UML had been working in Sunsari with two parallel committees chaired by Revathiraman Bhandari and Ramesh Basnet.
After both of them claimed to be the chairperson, Khemraj Pokhrel was made the chairperson of the conference organizing committee as an alternative. After Rewati Raman Bhandari, who became the chairperson from the convention, failed to convene the convention, Dwariklal Chaudhary was made the chairperson from the council meeting within six months.
After he became the mayor of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan without holding a convention, he handed it over to acting chairman Ramesh Basnet. Basnet also had the task of convening the convention within six months. But after uniting with the Maoists, he too withdrew from the post. When the party was united, Yogendra Mandal Pappu became the chairman of the Maoists.
After the UML and UCPN (M) split, Basnet became the chairman. Raman Bhandari was re-elected by the KP Sharma Oli faction after Basnet Madhav sided with Nepal over the issue of dissolution of the House of Representatives. After Bhandari was made chairman, two committees were active in the district. The dispute escalated after Basnet returned to the UML with a 10-point agreement reached while the two were conducting parallel activities.
