CPN-UML Secretary Prithvi Subba Gurung has said that the party chairman will be chosen unanimously and efforts will be made to elect other office-bearers unanimously as well.
"It is not that one cannot file candidacy against KP Oli in politics but what is its meaning now? I don't feel there is much meaning of filing candidacy for chairman against KP Oli," Gurung told Setopati in a video interview.
"It will perhaps be unanimous for chairman. But we will make efforts for unanimity even for other posts. What KP Oli will say is the matter. I feel situation will arise where everyone will accept his proposal," he stated.
Oli has absolute control in the party since the Khanal-Nepal faction left to form CPN (Unified Socialist) and Gurung's comments show that the 10 standing committee members who abandoned the Khanal-Nepal faction to remain in the party, and the few Maoist leaders who joined the party will not have much say in the upcoming general convention.
"Whatever he (Oli|) says does not happen in a dynamic party like ours. One can criticize and give suggestion in our party. But KP Oli is the decisive person. The power balance is such that whatever KP Oli says will happen. Oli says after thinking about a lot of things. He doesn't say assuming whatever he says will happen."
He pointed that nobody has announced candidacy for the post of different office-bearers waiting for Oli's proposal. "The situation this time warrants that we should accept if he (Oli) says we have to move forward together in this manner."
He added that those who cannot be accommodated as office-bearers will have space in the 45-strong standing committee.
He claimed that there is no problem in implementation of the 10-point agreement and added that almost 90 percent of it has been implemented.
The then warring factions of UML had signed the 10-point deal for party unity on July 11. Ten second generation leaders including Bhim Rawal, Ashta Laxmi Shakya, Surendra Pandey, Ghanashyam Bhusal and others didn't join the new party registered by Madhav Kumar Nepal after Oli expressed commitment to implement the deal and return the party to the state before unification with CPN (Maoist Center).
But Oli has renounced the 10-point deal and urged the dissident leaders to not talk about it pointing that the deal was signed to keep Nepal in the party implying it has no relevance now that Nepal has formed another party.
Rawal has resigned as coordinator of the task force formed to implement the 10-point deal after that and Gurung concurred with Oli saying there is no need to sing the 10-point song now. "How the coordinator of the 10-point task force (sic) could not convince in his own place is his problem. He should have been able to sit with the friends and convince."
