Spread the love

By Our Reporter

CPN-UML chairman KP Oli has been relentlessly working to make his party the largest in the next elections.

While in opposition, he launched one programme after another to regain the strength of the party that deteriorated after a split in his party in 2021, it is now easy to revitalize them when he is in power.

In the politburo meeting of the party held on Tuesday, party general secretary Shankar Pokharel unveiled the party’s new programme to make the party further stronger. Earlier, the party launched and completed ‘mission-grassroots’ and Mid-hill march pass’.

Encouraged by the success of the two programmes, the party has planned to increase its members to 1 million. In his proposal, Pokharel said that the main objective of the programmes is to make the party the largest after the 2027 general elections.

As the UML is a cadre-based party, it has a strong organisational base, especially in rural areas. It was also evident from the seats of the House of Representatives it won in the 2022 elections when other key parties had forged pre-election alliances. It lost elections only in the urban areas. For example, of 15 seats in the Kathmandu Valley, UML won only two in 2022.

However, in the eastern part of the country, it won most of the seats, for example, in Mechi, it won eight of the 10 seats while NC won only one seat that is too when NC had forged an alliance with the Maoist Centre and CPN (Unified Socialist).

However, as the new voters, even the sons and daughters of the UML leaders, may not vote for the traditional parties, it will not be easier for UML to emerge as the largest party. If it does not forge a pre-election alliance with the Maoist or other parties, the communist votes will be divided and NC can take advantage of it. However, when Oli is in power, the UML can manipulate the voters and state mechanism in its favour and produce the desired results as in the 1997 local-level polls. But, if Oli abides by the agreement inked between him and Deuba, the latter will be leading the election government although the Home Ministry will be handled by UML leaders, it will not be easy to manipulate. Therefore, if the communists’ votes divide, UML may not emerge as the largest party considering the eroded base of the party in urban areas.