Internal divisions have widened in the CPN-UML ahead of its 11th general convention, scheduled for December 13-15. Party chair and four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli, and Senior Vice-chairman Ishwar Pokhrel, have both declared their candidacy for party leadership and started forming respective panels down to the district level, setting the stage for a heated contest.

As many as 2,200 delegates will be elected from districts and affiliate party organisations to pick the new leadership, according to the party.

Attempts to reach a consensus between Oli and Pokhrel have failed, so there will be a clear panel-wise competition between the two factions in districts. Pokhrel, who announced his intent to contest against Oli on Tuesday, has the backing of former President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

“Elections are taking place in different districts with great enthusiasm,” said Rajendra Gautam, head of the party’s publicity division.

Oli had blocked the former President, who is a former vice-chair of the party, from rejoining the UML. Bhandari’s subsequent backing of Pokhrel against Oli could turn the general convention into a new battlefield between Oli and Bhandari.

Both factions now seek support of influential party leaders, and on Friday, a meeting of seven senior leaders, who are office bearers, reportedly decided to back Oli.

The seven include two Vice-chairs Bishnu Poudel and Ram Bahadur Thapa, Deputy General Secretary Prithvi Subba Gurung and four party secretaries Padma Aryal, Chhabilal Bishwakarma, Lekhraj Bhatta and Raghubir Mahaseth.

They have reportedly stood in favour of party unity and will urge both the sides (Oli and Pokhrel) to reach a consensus, “as the party needs a mature and responsible leadership,” a leader told the Post.

These seven office bearers are known for their “middle path” in the party.

The UML has 18 office bearer positions, including Oli. Another deputy general secretary, Pradeep Gyawali, is an Oli loyalist.

The Pokhrel faction rejected claims that some office bearers have backed Oli. “Some of our friends did a media trial today by spreading false information that some office bearers back Oli,” said Vice-chair Surendra Pandey.

He questioned how Mahaseth, who is in Jankpur, and Bhatta, who is in western Nepal, could have come together in Kathmandu to reach such an understanding. Pandey is close to Pokhrel camp.

Starting Friday, the Oli camp started a new campaign on social media where they are circulating a poster of Oli with the message: “To safeguard the nation’s existence, we need the leadership of KP Oli”.

Senior Vice-chair Pokhrel’s camp includes vice-chairs Surendra Pandey, Ashtalakshmi Shakya, and Yubaraj Gyawali, as well as secretaries Gokarna Bista and Yogesh Bhattarai. The camp is working to bring more influential leaders into its fold.

On Friday, party general secretary Shankar Pokharel and Senior Vice-chair Pokhrel also held talks at party headquarters in order to build consensus ahead of the general convention, said Gautam, head of the party publicity division.

The party has issued a circular to party committees stating that if consensus is not possible, representatives should be selected through elections.

“However, in several places, the Oli faction used its influence to get preferred representatives elected,” a leader close to the Pokhrel faction told the Post.

On Thursday, a local leader of Sunsari (Dharan), Anil Rajdhami, was reportedly beaten by Oli’s supporters.

On Tuesday, when announcing his plan through a press statement to contest for party leadership, Pokhrel urged Oli to step away from active party politics and assume a guardian’s role. During a recent Secretariat meeting, Pokhrel reiterated that he would lead the party, but Oli refused to quit the race.

After Pokhrel’s announcement, Oli inquired whether Pokhrel would leave the party if he lost, according to Bishnu Rijal, a central committee member.

But Pokhrel reassured Oli that he would contest the elections in good faith, but said managing leaders and cadres, in case of defeat, was as important, Rijal added.

Rijal stated that the two sides will constitute their respective panels during the convention, but Pokhrel’s panel will be weaker compared to Oli’s.

Some leaders close to Oli, like Mahesh Basnet, have urged Pokhrel to reach an understanding with Oli and accept his leadership for another term arguing that the party needs a stable leadership. But the Pokhrel camp has taken exception to Basnet's statement and called it an ‘indirect’ threat to Pokhrel.

After Oli and Pokhrel threw their hats in the ring, both sides started forming their respective panels to ensure more delegates from their fold could be elected. In some districts, delegates have been selected through consensus or unopposed.