Nepali Communist Party (NCP) Co-coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal is dissatisfied after party Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who had gone to meet CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli saying he would "only hold discussions for now," signed a written agreement on the formation and operation of provincial governments.
Dahal had assured Nepal prior to the meeting that they would only hold discussions on provinces and that no concrete agreement would be reached right away, a leader close to Nepal told Setopati. However, Nepal was left "furious" after Dahal abruptly signed a three-point power-sharing agreement on provincial governments.
According to a leader close to Nepal, Dahal’s move has triggered serious political dissatisfaction within the party.
"Coordinator Prachanda [Dahal], who had gone to meet Oli saying it was for normal political dialogue, abruptly signed a written agreement dividing the provincial governments,” the leader close to Nepal told Setopati. "This rushed agreement made by Prachandaji with Oli, displaying unnecessary lust for power, does not serve the party’s interests from any perspective."
Before meeting Oli, Dahal had held discussions with Nepal. During that conversation, Nepal had said that they should still hold dialogue with the Nepali Congress to find formulas for consensus, and that enhancing ties exclusively with Oli while widening the distance with the NC at this stage could prove counterproductive for the country.
In response, Dahal had told Nepal that he was going to hold further discussions with Oli, according to the leader.
"Not just Madhavji, a large section of the NCP is furious over Prachanda's move," the leader said. "Neither the former Unified Socialist circle nor the Maoist circle is happy."
As the leader said, many NCP leaders have been expressing discontent over the Oli-Dahal agreement.
NCP youth leader Naresh Shahi publicly expressed dissatisfaction, stating that agreements made without committee-level decisions turn into individual-level pacts.
The contradictions visible not only in Dahal's move but also in his statements have caused friction within the party.
On July 24, speaking at a seminar titled "The Role of Leftist Parties in the Current Political Situation" held on Pushpa Lal Memorial Day, Dahal had warned that engaging in games to form and topple governments could lead to a fall from which recovery would be impossible. However, within 24 hours of making that statement, Dahal signed a written agreement with Oli to topple provincial governments and form a new equation.
Speaking at the same seminar, Dahal had said that lessons should be learned from past mistakes and that parties should focus on work instead of making grand speeches.
“If we once again get involved in the game of forming and bringing down governments as we did in the past, we could all be crushed so badly during another another counter-revolution that we may never be able to rise again,” Dahal had said.
However, at the same event, pointing out the conflict between the NC and the UML over the budget process in the provincial assemblies, he had hinted that functional unity and cooperation were possible for the time being to prevent the provinces from being ruined.
According to the three-point agreement reached between UML Chairman Oli and NCP Coordinator Dahal on Saturday, the UML will lead the provincial governments in Koshi, Bagmati, and Lumbini.
Similarly, it has been agreed to hand over the command of Karnali and Sudur Paschim provinces to the NCP. The agreement also states that the leadership and participation structure in Madhesh and Gandaki provinces will be determined after consulting other parties represented in the provincial assemblies.
Both parties claim that this step was taken to end disagreements in budget formulation, situations of provinces being left without budgets, and unhealthy political competition, while accelerating provincial development and good governance.
However, after Dahal exchanged the keys to provincial power with Oli, the Madhav Nepal faction has grown suspicious. The Nepal faction has raised strong objections to Dahal's style of returning from the meeting after directly signing a written agreement without prior discussion or consensus within the party.
Leaders close to Nepal expressed concern that this could, on one hand, widen the party’s distance from the NC and, on the other, leave it caught in UML Chairman Oli’s strategic trap.
