Kathmandu, April 28:

The ongoing 18th central committee meeting of the CPN-UML today thanked the council of ministers of the interim government for successfully holding the Constituent Assembly election despite challenges and adversities.

The meeting also decided to request Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to accept the collective resignation tendered by the UML ministers from the government following “unexpected” results in the election. Seven UML ministers had tendered their resignation as ordered by the party’s standing committee meeting. PM Koirala had asked the UML leadership to reconsider the resignation and remain in the posts till the power was transferred to a new government.

According to a press statement issued at the end of today’s meeting, 31 leaders, including Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal, Bamdev Gautam and Sahana Pradhan aired their views on the political report presented by acting general secretary Amrit Kumar Bohara.

The political report, according to a central leader, has blamed Maoist threats, intimidation to UML candidates and cadres and fear factor among the general people for the “unexpected” results in the election. It also said the party’s complete detachment from the people for so many years during the conflict also contributed to the party’s poor performance.

A UML leader said that standing committee member Bamdev Gautam also registered a separate political report for discussion in today’s session of the meeting. Sources said that Gautam has analysed the reasons behind the humiliating defeat of the UML and the Maoist’s and Tarai-based parties’ stunning victory in the election.

He has also presented his views on the party’s future strategy, its relations with the Maoists and failure strategy of the NC regarding the election. “I have analysed in details how the Maoists gained stunning victory nationwide and how the UML should move ahead to face new challenges,” Gautam said, replying to a query about his political report distributed to all the central committee members.

A UML leader said the meeting would also finalise the names of the candidates to be elected to the CA under the proportional representation system. The party will have to select 70 candidates from among the 335 names in its closed-list of candidates submitted to the EC.