A handful of Central Working Committee members of the main opposition, the Nepali Congress, are all likely to seek answers from party President Sher Bahadur Deuba about his meeting with Prime Minister KP Oli on Thursday evening.

Oli and Deuba held a one-on-one meeting for over 90 minutes in which Oli reportedly sought the backing of the Nepali Congress if the ruling party split and the government lost its majority in Parliament, Kantipur, the Post's sister paper, reported on Sunday.

“We would like to know what transpired between them (Deuba and Oli),” said Pradip Poudel, a member of the central working committee, which is scheduled to convene later on Sunday to discuss the new schedule of the party's general convention.

li had approached Deuba following pressure from inside his own party to step down from both the government and the party leadership. Other top leaders of the ruling party also came to know about the meeting between Oli and Deuba.

Oli also plans to reintroduce an ordinance to ease the process for a party to split if a group commands the support of at least 40 percent of members of the party’s legislative outfit or its central committee.

Senior leaders from the ruling Nepal Communist Party, particularly those from Oli’s rival camps, have raised questions about the meeting between Oli and Deuba. Nepali Congress leaders have also raised eyebrows.

Senior Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel said on Saturday that it is not good for his party to get involved with the affairs of the ruling party at a time when the biggest party in parliament is on the verge of a split.

The Nepali Congress should not expect to ascend to power after the ruling party splits, Poudel said during a programme on Saturday. “We should focus on politics of principle not temporary political gain,” he added.

A Nepali Congress leader told the Post that Deuba was positive towards lending support to the government if the ruling party splits and the Oli loses his majority in Parliament.

Talking to the Post earlier, party vice-chair Bimalendra Nidhi had said that Congress will support whoever splits the communist party and seeks support from the opposition. “But, it is not good to split a party in a democracy,” said Nidhi. “We will discuss and decide our strategy if the ruling party splits. So it is too early to predict what our party will do,” said Nidhi, adding that it is normal for the prime minister and the opposition party leader to meet.