Tickets to nowhere

KP Oli has rigged UML’s ticket distribution for the March 5 polls—much to the party’s detriment.

Following the successful Gen Z revolt in early September, there has been a stark contrast in developments inside the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML. The dissident faction in the Congress, the largest party in the dissolved parliament, were able to force a special general convention, which duly picked a new party leadership under Gagan Thapa. The leadership of the UML, the second largest party in the dissolved parliament, was also forced to hold a general convention in the wake of the revolt. Yet, unlike what happened in the Congress, the old guard under KP Shama Oli was able to further tighten its grip on the party. As expected, in the aftermath of the general convention, rather than strengthening the democratic process within the UML, Oli seems even more determined to stifle any remaining opposition to his absolute rule. Most recently, this is being played out in ticket distribution for the March 5 polls. Besides picking his loyalists for most of the 165 first-past-the-post seats, he has kept tickets for 25 constituencies ‘on hold’. In the ticket distribution process, the likes of Ishwar Pokharel (Oli’s challenger for party chair in the recent convention) as well as Yogesh Bhattarai (who was elected an office-bearer from the Pokharel camp) have been sidelined.