Five people were injured in a clash between two factions during the eighth district convention of the CPN-UML in Dhanusha on Tuesday.
Those injured include Satya Narayan Mahaseth and Ramudgar Das.
According to representatives, supporters of Saroj Yadav—leader of the UML Madhes province parliamentary party and a minister—were responsible for the assault. The injured are believed to be close to UML Secretary Raghubir Mahaseth.
Tensions have flared between two factions at the UML Dhanusha convention. One faction includes UML Secretary Mahaseth, politburo member Juli Mahato, and central member Hari Narayan Mahato. The other faction includes UML Madhes leader Yadav, central member Umashankar Argariya, Madhes Provincial Assembly Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal, outgoing district chairman Rajkishor Yadav, and leader Sanjeev Jha, among others.
The Mahaseth faction protested after dispute arose at the time of publishing the final list of candidates. The group chased outgoing district chairman Rajkishor Yadav.
Supporters of Mahaseth alleged that the opposing faction brought outsiders to attack them.
The district convention is being held at the Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Cultural Center in Janakpurdham. Tents at the venue were torn down, and furniture, computers, and laptops were vandalized in the clashes.
Mahaseth’s faction is considered strong in Dhanusha. They have fielded Bhola Yadav for chairman, Jay Prakash Sunarait for vice-chairman, Deep Narayan Thakur for secretary, Sabin Bikram Thapa for deputy secretary (open), and Kiran Kapar for deputy secretary (women).
The rival faction has fielded Laxmi Narayan Yadav for chairman, Tej Narayan Yadav for vice-chairman, Dhirendra Kumar Mandal for secretary, Hari Kishor Yadav for deputy secretary (open), and Ruka Kumari Mishra for deputy secretary (women).
UML Dhanusha had not been able to hold its convention for a long time due to disputes. Among the UML’s 77 district committees, only Dhanusha had yet to hold its convention.
A total of 630 representatives are taking part in the convention.
