CPN-UML Deputy General Secretary Prithvi Subba Gurung has called for left alliance breaking the current ruling coalition.
“I vote for left alliance. The general party cadres and well-wishers have said this coalition should not be allowed to continue. An unpopular party like Nepali Congress has won so many seats due to this coalition,” Gurung told Setopati in a video interview.
“I will put this in the party meeting. The leadership should also take initiative. CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist) and Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) should also be able to evaluate this situation.”
He claimed that UML has lost the recent local election despite being the biggest popular force and stressed on the need for left alliance to stop repetition of this result in the upcoming provincial and federal elections. He opined that becoming strong alone cannot win a battle and the enemy should also be weakened and divided for that.
He added that there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics and insisted that UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Unified Socialist Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal can still come together.
He also defended the party’s performance in Gandaki province where he is the party’s main leader and even served as the chief minister for more than three years. “We have saved the past legacy in Gandaki in this election. We had won in 34 local bodies in the last election. We have now won 35. NC had 10 more seats than us earlier. It only has one more now. We are the only ones to save the legacy out of all seven provinces.”
He also refused to take responsibility for the party’s loss in Pokhara Metropolitan City where the common coalition candidate from Unified Socialist, formed after split in UML, was elected mayor.
“I don’t have to say anything if there are forces who want to use this election as the Kot Massacre. Internal reasons should have been searched if we had lost only in Pokhara. We have lost in Bharatpur, Biratnagar, Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Why have we lost in mayor while winning deputy mayor?”
