KATHMANDU: A tug-of-war has emerged inside the CPN (UML) regarding party restructuring, pitting Chairman KP Sharma Oli against Vice Chairman Bishnu Prasad Paudel and General Secretary Shankar Pokharel. While Vice Chairman Paudel and General Secretary Pokharel have pushed forward the agenda of restructuring the party along with its leadership, Chairman Oli has accused them of attempting to split the party.

Paudel and Pokharel, who have stood by Chairman Oli for a long time, have now reached the conclusion that the future leadership of the party cannot remain in Oli’s hands.

During the UML Secretariat meeting held in the last week of May 2026, a majority of members expressed views in favor of restructuring. The Secretariat meeting concluded on May 24, 2026, formed a task force under the leadership of Vice Chairman Ram Bahadur Thapa to collect suggestions regarding party restructuring. Oli was not in favor of forming such a task force. However, after a majority emerged in favor of restructuring, he moved his close ally Thapa forward to form the task force.

That very task force organized a Bagmati Province-level suggestion collection program on Saturday. Leaders participating in the program held in Jadibuti, Kathmandu, raised the issue of leadership change. Vice Chairman Paudel, who is also a member of the task force, stated that not wanting party restructuring meant not desiring the well-being of the UML. Paudel had remarked during the program, “If we are to save the UML, we must restructure it.”

As soon as the program concluded, Oli held a meeting with Bagmati leaders. After listening to their briefing, Oli vented his ire against Vice Chairman Paudel and General Secretary Shankar Pokharel. During the meeting, Oli urged them to remain alert, claiming that Paudel and Pokharel could split the party.

According to a leader who participated in the meeting, Oli labeled General Secretary Pokharel and Vice Chairman Paudel as ‘greedy and malicious.’ He also argued that the problems visible in the party were not caused by him alone.

After leaders who had supported him for a long time abandoned his side, Oli has intensified his meetings in recent days. A UML Secretariat member says, “After the elections, Chairman Oli is in the minority within the Central Committee that he himself picked.”

In the 11th General Convention of the UML held in November 2025, most of the leaders were selected from a list distributed by Chairman Oli himself. Out of the 299-member Central Committee, only 12 individuals outside of Oli’s list were elected. Oli was elected as the UML Chairman for a third term from that very convention. However, pressure has now mounted against Oli within that same Central Committee.

“Immediately after the election results came out, Vice Chairman Paudel and General Secretary Pokharel reached the conclusion that the party cannot run under Chairman Oli. But there was a lingering question of whether they would actually stop supporting the Chairman,” a Secretariat member said. “Now, they have reached a point of no return on this agenda.”

The Thapa-led task force is scheduled to collect suggestions in Koshi Province on June 16, Lumbini on June 18, Sudurpashchim on June 20, Karnali on June 22, Gandaki on June 25, and Madhesh Province on June 27. Similarly, the task force has set a schedule to collect suggestions from Valley Province on June 30, Contact Coordination Committee Province on July 1, fraternal organizations on July 2, and department heads and body officials on July 3.

Central Committee members, provincial officials, and district-level officials from the respective regions will participate in the province-level gatherings. UML leaders have been maintaining that the party will be restructured based on the conclusions of the suggestions received province-wise.

Meanwhile, General Secretary Shankar Pokharel wrote on Facebook on Sunday morning: ‘The party cannot be protected by expressions that go against the public sentiment. Let us strengthen public relations while respecting the public sentiment, because the people are the creators of history.’ Pokharel made this remark public just a day after Oli expressed anger against Paudel and Pokharel during his meeting with Bagmati Province members and Central Committee members. This status by Pokharel, who has reached the conclusion that the party cannot be led by Chairman Oli in the coming days, is being viewed meaningfully within the UML.

Chairman Oli and officials close to him have been interpreting the mandate of the general election held on March 5, 2026, as the product of a conspiracy.

On the other hand, General Secretary Pokharel and Vice Chairman Paudel maintain that Chairman Oli’s role was responsible for this outcome, and UML sources state they are preparing to move forward through mechanisms including a special general convention if he does not step down from leadership.

On Saturday evening, Vice Chairman Paudel had also written a status on Facebook with a sentiment matching Pokharel’s. Mentioning the context of the suggestion collection, he wrote, “Surely, we will be capable of conducting an objective review of the General Election-2026 as expected by our comrades, and fulfill the responsibility of restructuring the party in a manner that re-establishes the lost mandate and prestige of the CPN (UML).”

Both Pokharel and Paudel had played an active role in getting Oli elected as Chairman during the Ninth General Convention. Since then, they remained close to Oli, playing decisive roles in running the party. However, both leaders have now reached a stage where they are challenging Oli’s leadership itself.

Meanwhile, Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai, who has been continuously advocating for party restructuring, also wrote on Facebook, ‘Let us make CPN (UML) more unified! Let us make the task of party restructuring successful!!’

This makes it clear that the latest debate within the UML is no longer limited merely to an election review. This debate has shifted from the question of how to restructure the party to under whose leadership it should be restructured.