KP Sharma Oli and Bhim Rawal will contest for the post of UML chair in the 10th general convention held in Chitwan.
Rawal, who had already announced candidacy for party chair, first filed candidacy for the party chief expressing dissatisfaction with the list of 19 office-bearers presented in the closed session in the wee hours of Monday by Oli proposing another term at the top for himself.
Oli also filed his candidacy later.
Oli read out the consensus list of 301 central members and 19 office-bearers during the closed session that started after Sunday midnight. Oli—who was empowered to pick the consensus list of 19 office-bearers, 301 central committee members and chairmen of different commissions by the closed session the general convention on Saturday—presented the list of central members including 101 women first.
He then read out the list of 19 office-bearers including himself as chairman and excluding Rawal and Ghanashyam Bhusal--who had insisted to contest election for party chair and vice-chair respectively--as an office-bearer itself.
Oli proposed Ishwar Pokharel as senior vice-chair and Shankar Pokharel as general secretary.
The consensus list presented by Oli picked Ishwar as senior vice-chair ahead of Subash Chandra Nembang who had stayed firm in his claim for the second-ranked post till the final hours.
Similarly, Shankar has been picked over Bishnu Paudel for the second most powerful position in the party. Both Shankar and Paudel are Oli's lieutenants and the former, who was considered the preferred choice of Oli, finally prevailed with Paudel kept as vice-chair.
Shankar had lost the election for deputy general secretary, when the party elected two deputy general secretaries, finishing behind Ghanashyam Bhusal and Paudel in the last general convention. But he has been elevated to general secretary due to his close relation with Oli.
There were talks about putative factions of Pokharels fighting against that of Nembang and Paudel if election were held for senior vice-chair and general secretary. The Pokharels have ultimately prevailed in the consensus list prepared by Oli.
Oli first presented the list in the presidium meeting before the closed session started after midnight over 13 hours after it was scheduled to start Sunday morning. The presidium includes Oli, Ishwar, Yubaraj Gyawali, Ashta Laxmi Shakya, Bhim Rawal, Nembang, Ram Bahadur Thapa, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Chhabi Lal Bishwokarma, Lal Babu Pandit and Goma Devkota.
Nembang, Ram Bahadur Thapa, Surendra Pandey, Yubaraj Gyawali and Ashta Laxmi Shakya have also been proposed as vice-chairs.
Pradeep Gyawali, Prithvi Subba Gurung and Bishnu Rimal have been proposed as deputy general secretaries while Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Raghubir Mahaseth, Chhabi Lal Bishwokarma, Lekh Raj Bhatta, Yogesh Bhattarai, Gokarna Bista and Padma Aryal have been proposed for secretary.
