KATHMANDU: The CPN (UML), having faced an unexpected defeat in the general elections of March 5, 2026, has seen its internal activities come to a halt. Although the office remains operational with the presence of some leaders including office bearers, other activities have failed to take place.

Since the election, Chairman K.P. Sharma Oli has visited the office only once. He reached the office on March 26, 2026, to address the members of the House of Representatives.

“Even if the environment for external activities wasn’t there, internal party activities should have been conducted, but a silence has prevailed,” says Central Committee member Jhapat Bahadur Rawal. “This is the result of making Chairman Oli the ‘all-in-all’ by weakening the collective leadership system.”

According to his understanding, this has created a situation where the party is judged as good or bad based on an individual’s popularity or unpopularity rather than policy and ideology. Ever since Oli was elected UML Chairman at the Ninth General Convention in 2014, there have been allegations that collectivism has been disappearing and the party is being run unilaterally.

Immediately after the House of Representatives election on March 5, Chairman Oli’s father, Mohan Prasad, passed away. When the Secretariat meeting was held at his residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, on March 14, Oli was in mourning. The meeting held under his chairmanship at that time selected proportional representation (PR) members for the House of Representatives.

On March 30, Oli was arrested on charges of suppressing the “Gen-Z Movement” following the formation of the new government led by Balendra Shah.

Although he was released on April 9, he has been recovering at home following surgery for gallbladder stones. Due to an infection at the surgical site, he had even stopped meeting people. However, after problems arose in the UML parliamentary party of Sudurpashchim Province, Oli participated in a discussion on May 6.

Central Committee member Ramesh Paudel states that party activities have stalled because Chairman Oli appears inactive. “Forget about planning how to move forward in the future; there hasn’t even been a review of why such unexpected results occurred in the election yet,” Paudel says. He mentions that in the Chairman’s absence, responsibilities should have been given to other office bearers, including the Vice-Chairmen, but that hasn’t happened. He adds, “There is no certainty as to when the Secretariat or the Central Committee will meet.”

While in police custody, Oli had given the responsibility of Acting Chairman to Vice-Chairman Ram Bahadur Thapa. After Oli’s arrest, the UML had even announced street protests in opposition. Those protests were later postponed after failing to gain much momentum.

UML Secretary Bhanubhakta Dhakal, however, says the party will soon hold a meeting and decide on future policies. But even he does not know when the Party Secretariat and Central Committee meetings will take place. “Discussions are likely ongoing at the leadership level regarding holding a meeting soon,” Dhakal says. “The Chairman and the General Secretary know when the meeting will sit. We have been saying that the current confusion must be ended quickly through discussions at the leadership level.” He claims that the leadership is doing the necessary groundwork to clear the current uncertainty.

Meanwhile, following the unexpected results, a campaign for reorganization has started within the UML, demanding that Chairman Oli step down and take responsibility. Initiated by young Central Committee members, a gathering of youth and student leaders was held at Minbhawan Campus on May 2. The gathering concluded that Chairman Oli could no longer lead the party forward and should resign. Furthermore, the meeting concluded that the party must return to collective leadership. For that, the gathering proposed that members must renew their party membership in person and that there should be direct elections to choose party leadership.

Leaders including Vice-Chairman Bishnu Paudel and General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel have also moved discussions forward, stating that the party cannot progress under Oli, who was elected for a third term at the Eleventh General Convention in December 2025. Previously, former Vice-Chairman Surendra Pandey, Vice-Chairman Gokarna Bista, and Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai had already demanded Oli’s resignation. However, leaders close to the Chairman maintain that Oli is not ready to do so.