KATHMANDU – Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Executive Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has reached Baluwatar to meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Following a meeting with Shankar Pokharel, a leader close to Oli, on Tuesday morning, Prachanda reached Baluwatar to meet party co-chair and Prime Minister Oli. According to a party source, Prime Minister Oli decided to send Pokharel, Chief Minister of Lumbini province, to meet Prachanda as part of efforts to resolve the intra-party rivalry.
Prachanda is holding a meeting with Prime Minister Oli ahead of an informal secretariat meeting that he has called for today evening. Although Prachanda, along with four other secretariat members, have demanded the secretariat meeting, NCP co-chair and Prime Minister Oli refused to convene the meeting. Meetings between the two chairmen of the ruling NCP have become rare in recent days amid growing intra-party rifts.
After their demand to hold a secretariat meeting immediately was turned down by Oli, Prachanda has called an informal secretariat meeting of the party for today evening.
Last Friday, Prachanda had held a similar informal secretariat meeting at the party headquarters in Dhumbarahi. The meeting attended by a majority of the members had decided to put pressure on party co-chair Oli to hold a formal secretariat meeting of the party. After Oli denied to convene the meeting as demanded by the rival faction in the party, Prachanda is holding the informal meeting.
Prachanda Senior leaders duo Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal, vice chairman Bamdev Gautam and party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha are scheduled to attend the informal meeting of the secretariat that comprises nine members. Other three secretariat members close to Prime Minister Oli have been boycotting the informal meeting called by Prachanda.
