The CPN-UML, once in the iron grip of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, has arrived at a situation where the party chairman is significantly weakened despite his seemingly unchallenged position in the central organisation.

Senior leaders, particularly those close to Oli, have ruled out any factional rivalry in the party reorganised by the Chitwan convention in 2022.

But some recent incidents suggest otherwise.

The facade of unity erodes when it comes to the party’s local and provincial chapters. There are reports of rival groups clashing in various districts over leadership selection.

Even those who worked as comrades until a few years ago have engaged in violent acts to defeat each other.

According to leaders and cadres, recent confrontations during the Dhanusha district convention of the party and the youth wing’s Parbat chapter election hint at brewing trouble.

In an interview with the Post, senior vice-chair Ishwar Pokhrel had last month denied the existence of factionalism within the UML. Nonetheless he acknowledged some disagreements at the local level.

“Disagreements can occur in the course of working together at the local committees. Such differences may be visible also at the district or provincial levels,” Pokhrel had argued.

Despite Pokhrel’s confidence in unity, UML cadres have continued to engage in violent attacks against rivals within party groups.

The eighth UML Dhanusha district convention in Madhesh Province was scheduled for May 6. However, the party failed to elect district leadership in consensus and decided to go for a vote. As the process began, tensions between the two factions turned violent, and the election had to be postponed indefinitely.

Five individuals, including district leaders Satyanarayan Mahasheth and Mahesh Das from the Bhola Yadav faction, sustained head injuries during the clash. Outgoing district chair Rajkishor Yadav was also roughed up.

Disputes over the final candidates’ list triggered a violent exchange between Bhola Yadav and Laxmi Narayan Yadav factions. Members threw chairs at each other and vandalised property, even attacking election committee members.

Bhola Yadav belongs to the faction led by UML Central Secretary Raghubir Mahasheth, while Laxmi Narayan Yadav aligns with central member Umashankar Argariya.

Laxmi Narayan’s panel accused the committee of altering the candidates’ list and breaching the election rules. Its protest led to the suspension of the election.

“The incident was caused by a misunderstanding between the Mahasheth and Argariya factions,” Lila Nath Shrestha, in charge of the party’s provincial committee, told the Post.

Argariya, also a central member, said that the postponed election would not resume until a directive is issued from the central leadership. Though both Mahasheth and Argariya are considered to be from the KP Sharma Oli-led establishment faction, party leaders from Madhesh Province say Mahasheth’s alleged high-handedness prompted Argariya’s group to protest.

“Mahasheth’s dominance in Dhanusha forced the Argariya group to form a separate faction,” said a UML leader. “After all, this conflict is rooted in factional politics.”

Infighting in the UML is not limited to Dhanusha. A day after the Dhanusha incident, a similar clash ensued in Parbat district when two UML groups resorted to violence over a dispute emanating from the election of district leadership of the National Youth Federation, the party’s youth wing. The dispute took a nasty turn, resulting in head injuries to a Gandaki Province member and youth leader Arjun Paudel.

Parbat has two strong UML factions—one led by former National Assembly chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and the other by former minister Padam Giri.

According to party insiders, Timilsena has the backing of Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung, also a deputy general secretary, while former minister and standing committee member Khagaraj Adhikari supports Giri. Gurung, Timilsena, Adhikari and Giri are close to Oli.

Gurung and Timilsena have been competing against each other for the command of the party’s organisation in Gandaki Province.

According to party insiders, the clash was triggered when Timilsina’s group demanded a postponement of the convention to elect district youth leaders, which Giri’s group opposed.

Following the incident, the youth wing’s convention in Parbat remains uncertain.

The dispute has now reached the party’s province-level committee, sparking tensions between the Gandaki Province and Parbat District committees. Within Gandaki UML, Deputy General Secretary Gurung and standing committee member Adhikari lead two separate factions. Timilsina aligns with Gurung, while Giri is believed to be close to Adhikari. These same divisions have trickled down to Parbat’s Youth Association.

Lawmaker Giri says the district committee has requested the central leadership to investigate the incident. Giri described the incident as a local level dispute and stressed addressing such issues without delay.

“A problem of this kind must be addressed promptly, otherwise it may take a serious turn in the long run,” Giri told the Post.

In the UML Morang district convention on March 10, Ajambar Rai beat Raj Kumar Ojha, the candidate backed by the party establishment, to become the district chairperson. Despite party chair Oli favouring Ojha, Rai defeated him with the backing of former President Bidya Bhandari, who is considering joining active politics in the UML.

Party leaders claim that the rivalry in Koshi Province, where the Morang district falls, is between the former President Bhandari and Prime Minister Oli. But among the second-rung leaders, Hikmat Karki and Sherdhan Rai are also tough competitors in the province.

The tussle within the central leadership was also evident in Lumbini. During the provincial convention in 2023, party vice-chair Bishnu Paudel and General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel backed different leaders as provincial chief. Paudel backed Radha Krishna Kandel of Palpa while Pokhrel supported Hari Rijal of Pyuthan.

Paudel prevailed and Kandel got elected as provincial chair of the party, defeating Pokharel’s candidate.

Pokharel was waiting for an opportune time to counter rivals.

After forging an alliance with Nepali Congress last year, the UML got the opportunity to lead the provincial government in Lumbini. Lila Giri, a leader close to Paudel, was the UML’s parliamentary party leader in the province. But, Chet Narayan Acharya, who is loyal to Pokharel, was made chief minister. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and General Secretary Pokharel directly intervened in the party’s provincial affairs and instructed UML provincial lawmakers to elect Acharya the chief minister.

In Sudurpaschim Province, the UML has been significantly weakened since the party division in 2021, as the newly formed CPN (Unified Socialist) is strong there. Still, party secretary Lekhraj Bhatta and standing committee member Karna Thapa compete for the command of the party’s provincial organisation.

“As Bagmati Province is home to central leaders, there don’t seem to be many differences here,” said a Bagmati-based leader. “However, tensions are often seen between Gokul Baskota and Mahesh Basnet.”

Until former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal split the UML to form the Unified Socialist in 2021, Nepal and Khanal led a faction while Oli led another. The two sides ran parallel factions from the central to the local levels.

During the time, all the leaders—Rai and Karki in Koshi; Basnet and Banskota in Bagmati; Gurung, Adhikari, Timilsina and Giri in Gandaki; Paudel and Pokharel in Lumbini; and Bhatta and Thapa in Sudurpaschim— wholeheartedly supported Oli.

With Nepal and Khanal, along with a group of second-rung leaders, having quit the UML long ago, leaders from the erstwhile Oli faction are now fighting each other.