The leaders met at the central office of the UML sister organization, General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (Gefont). The meeting was attended by Mukunda Neupane, Pradip Nepal, Pradip Gyawali, Prithivi Subba Gurung, Beduram Bhusal, Bishnu Rimal, Rajendra Pandey and Mahendra Pandey.
The meeting is being watched keenly as the leaders represent the party´s so-called ´third-front´ which comprises 16 politburo members seen as moderates in the party and not aligned with either Khanal or the Nepal-Oli camp. [break]
UML holds the key to the current political deadlock and the next government and the future course of Nepali politics will largely depend on what the party’s upcoming central committee meeting decides. And the central committee meeting’s outcome depends, by and large, on the decision of the ´third front’. But the problem is, the ´third-front’ is also not yet clear what its stance should be and there are some divergent views.
Some in the ´third front´ have argued for careful analysis of the situation before reaching any conclusion, while others have said that the party should not lead a government based just on support from the Maoist party.
Confirming the meeting of the 16-member group, Mukunda Neupane said they will try to stop polarization in the party.
"Our bottom-line is that the left-democratic alliance should not collapse at any cost. It should, instead, be made stronger," he told Republica.
However, Neupane said that the idea of rotational leadership in the new government is the best option for settling government leadership dispute.
"Once the parties agree on the modality, NC or UML leaders can head the government. At the second stage, the Maoists can lead the coalition as key issues related to peace process, such as integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants, will have been settled by that time," Neupane said. He said the UML should have no objection to NC heading the government first.
Another participant in the meeting said they would first urge the leaders to do a proper analysis of the situation at the central committee meeting before taking any decision.
He said, "We should first become clear what exactly the Maoists want-- are they hell-bent on pushing for a revolt or are they still committed to peace and constitution. We have to take our decision accordingly."
Similarly, he said the group should also urge the NC leaders to come clean on whether they are for consensus politics or not.
"Even the Maoists withdrew the candidacy of Pushpa Kamal Dahal as per an agreement reached with the UML and later they became ready to withdraw the special session of parliament following a two-point agreement reached among the three parties. Why then is the NC not ready to withdraw Ram Chandra Paudel´s candidacy as requested by other parties?"
Leaders from the group said they should also press the NC leaders to become more flexible for forging consensus among the parties.
Some of the leaders in the ´third-front’ such as Pradeep Gyawali have already advised party Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal not to lead a government with the support of the Maoist party alone.
Some others in the group put the emphasis to reshuffling party responsibilities should party Chairman Khanal become the candidate for prime minister. "If we decide to make him prime minister, he should be ready to reshuffle the party´s responsibilities,” one leader said.
The Khanal camp in the party has argued that the party should not miss the opportunity to make the party chairman prime minister while the Nepal-Oli faction has been insisting that the party shouldn´t claim government leadership at the cost of breaking the present alliance with the NC.
Since the two factions are unlikely to change their stances, any decision reached by the ´third-front´ will be crucial in the UML central committee meeting and could well decide the future course of politics.
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