Tempest in the ruling party almost over after Dahal takes a conciliatory approach

Until a few weeks ago, Oli was cornered, but he has now managed to overpower mounting pressure to resign both as party chair and prime minister.

Over the last three weeks, the ruling Nepal Communist Party’ Standing Committee has been postponed for at least seven times. The reason: two chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal were “in a bid to strike a reconciliatory note”. Until a few weeks ago, Dahal, backed by senior leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal, had driven Oli into a corner. But now the tables have been turned. Oli has managed to have the upper hand, putting Dahal on the back foot.