They said the chairman has not received due cooperation from his deputies Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha for the convention that aims to restructure the party organisation and provide much-needed stimulus to the party that has continually lost its organisational vigour and efficacy ever since joining the mainstream politics in 2006. “Leaders and cadres close to Baburamji and Narayankaji are not cooperating at the district level to renew the membership and holding the district and village level convention,” a leader close to Dahal was quoted as saying in a recent party meeting.

Although the deadline to renew the party membership was this week, none of the district committees sent the name list of the members at the party headquarters, a clear indication that the factional warring among top leaders is also dogging the party’s local level committees and their members.  

Leaders in support of Bhattarai are of the view that holding the party’s jamboree cannot rebuild the party. They have emphasised the need of reworking the party’s ideology before going for national convention.

Bhattarai has time and again urged  Dahal to suspend the convention for some period and work out on party’s new ideology arguing that the existing ideology has become obsolete.

 “Technically, there is no problem holding the national convention, but ideology matters when we are going for a national level meeting,” said Devendra Poudel, a leader close to Bhattarai.

Dahal, however, is opposed to Bhattarai’s suggestion. He has accused that Bhattarai is trying to subvert the party organisation on the direction of foreign forces.  

Meanwhile, another senior leader Shrestha is also dissatisfied with Dahal’s working style. Shrestha has said that the party has failed to implement the decisions taken by party’s Central Committee meeting after the Constituent Assembly election of November last year. Shrestha rarely attends the cross-party meetings and other formal party meetings owing to his grievances against Dahal.

“The transformation process of the party leadership has not begun yet, and without that it is not possible to rebuild the party,” a leader close to Shrestha said.