CPN-UML Prepares Third Election Review Report Amidst Internal Debate

Kathmandu. CPN UML has prepared its third report while reviewing the elections held on the 21st of Falgun. Earlier, after the reports prepared by General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and leader Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ on strengthening, transforming, and rejuvenating the party became controversial, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli handed over the responsibility of preparing the ‘Review Report’ to leader Pradip Gyawali. Accordingly, the new report prepared by Gyawali analyzes the reasons for the party’s defeat, but a large part of it is spent on defending and praising Chairman Oli. The party experienced intense dissatisfaction following the unexpected defeat faced by UML in the last general elections. Initially, General Secretary Pokharel had prepared a report with the intention that the party leadership should be changed. Chairman Oli directly rejected this. Then, Oli gave the responsibility of writing the report to Badal with the confidence that he would defend him. However, after Badal’s report also faced intense criticism and controversy within the party, Oli finally had Gyawali prepare a new report. The new report prepared under Gyawali’s leadership points out various external and internal reasons for the electoral defeat. The report interprets the events of Bhadra 23 and 24 as a conspiracy against the party, claiming that it had a negative impact on the elections. In his report, Gyawali portrays UML’s defeat not as a defeat of the party, but as an attack on the forces standing for nationality, democracy, and constitutionalism. Defending Chairman Oli, he emphatically mentions the historic achievements made under Oli’s leadership, such as the stance taken during the promulgation of the constitution, facing the blockade, and the trade and transit agreement with China. The report attempts to boost the morale of the cadres by stating that the party has ‘lost a battle, but not the overall war’ after facing defeat in the elections. However, many sections of the report glorify Oli’s past decisions. While admitting that the party suffered a major blow due to the UML split, the report blames other parties for the split. Earlier, General Secretary Pokharel had pointed out leadership weaknesses, while Badal had criticized other leaders while defending Oli. Gyawali’s report, however, attempts to balance both factions and concludes that Oli’s ‘strong leadership’ is necessary. In the process of exploring the reasons for the electoral defeat, the report highlights the influence of ‘digital algorithms’, the misuse of social media, and ‘anti-party activities’ within the party during the elections as major factors. Gyawali claims that the confusion among the younger generation and the ‘propaganda war’ waged against UML and Oli through social media influenced the results. In addition, organizational weaknesses of the party, errors in ticket distribution, and a rift in the relationship between leaders and cadres are also considered causes of defeat. Gyawali’s report has also put forward a 39-point action plan to further strengthen UML in the coming days, which includes developing a culture of ‘criticism-self-criticism’ within the party, engaging youth in the party, and building a ‘cyber army’ or an effective digital mechanism to protect the party’s policies and leadership. Furthermore, he emphasized the need to implement strict measures to compel elected representatives to follow the party’s directives and to take action against those who do not adhere to discipline. While the controversy over the report continues within the party, a task force meeting has been called for Sunday. After the previous two reports became controversial, it remains a matter of interest how Gyawali’s report will impact UML. However, leaders have expressed doubts about whether the internal conflict within the party will be resolved by the report’s language and the exaggeration in defending Oli.