“They went ahead and split the party and expelled us, but we rebuilt the party”

KATHMANDU:- CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli has stated that despite numerous efforts to preserve the party—which had previously neared a two-thirds majority—those attempts proved unsuccessful.

Chairman Oli made these remarks while addressing the UML’s Bagmati Province ‘Awakening Campaign,’ noting that the party and its leadership have repeatedly faced attacks from all sides.

Chairman Oli said, “In the end, they went ahead and split the party. We were actually expelled from the party. We reorganized the party and restored it to its original state. They split the party at a time when we had secured 175 out of the total 275 seats—meaning we were just nine seats short of a two-thirds majority. We tried to save the party through various means and efforts, but they refused to let it be saved.”

“At times, one faction splits the party; at other times, the other does. Although we were expelled from the party, even after reorganizing it, we did not remove anyone from their positions—such as senior leader, vice-chair, secretary, or deputy secretary. We tried to preserve the party by keeping those roles intact,” he said. “They expelled us from party membership in Poush, yet even when they split the party on Bhadra 10, our efforts to keep it united continued.”

He also recalled how, in the year 2051/52 BS—when the UML’s election victory was certain—misleading rumors were spread branding the party as “traitorous.”

Chairman Oli said, “After the year 2051/52 BS, our party reached a position where it was certain to win elections. Public appeal for the party grew immensely. To prevent this patriotic and nationalist party from establishing itself as a force that waged a clear struggle, a campaign of chaos was unleashed by branding it an ‘anti-national’ party. Rumors were spread labeling it the ultimate ‘traitor’ party, ultimately leading to the party’s split in the year 2054 BS.”

After the party split, all manner of tactics—ranging from verbal abuse to various false accusations—were employed to defeat the UML in the 2056 election. Once the election concluded and the UML was prevented from securing a majority, a campaign for party reunification began, and by 2058, we had reunited.