KATHMANDU: Intense internal rifts have surfaced within the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) as a two-thirds majority of office-bearers demanded the resignation of Chairman KP Sharma Oli during the ongoing Central Secretariat meeting.

Meeting at Oli’s private residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, on Saturday, the party’s top leadership became heavily polarized after Chairman Oli opened the floor by encouraging members to speak freely about the party’s future management.

Following his prompt, a sweeping majority—including influential General Secretary Shankar Pokharel, and Deputy General Secretaries Yogesh Bhattarai and Raghubir Mahaseth—strongly criticized the current leadership.

Citing disappointing electoral performances and organizational stagnation, the dissenting leaders asserted that the party could no longer function under its current mechanism and urged Oli to “pave the way forward” through an immediate party restructuring.

Deputy General Secretary Bhattarai explicitly demanded Oli’s resignation, while Mahaseth warned that the party risked complete collapse under the current leadership despite Oli’s historical role in building it.

In a sharp and aggressive counter-response to the swelling dissent, Chairman Oli firmly rejected the demands to step down, emphasizing that he was legitimately elected through a democratic internal convention and would not yield to internal pressures.

While party stalwarts like Vice-Chairman Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ and Secretary Mahesh Basnet stood firmly by Oli, and party spokesperson Lekhraj Bhatta attempted to downplay the severity of the confrontation by labeling the resignation rumors as exaggerated media fabrications, internal sources confirm a deeply entrenched crisis.

The two-day meeting has seen nearly all key vice-chairmen, general secretaries, and deputy general secretaries turn against the party head, leaving only four secretaries left to air their views.

The high-stakes Secretariat meeting, which features an 11-point agenda including leader responsibilities, is scheduled to conclude tomorrow following the final remarks of the remaining office-bearers.