KATHMANDU: Co-chair of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been learnt to have held discussions with the standing committee members of the then CPN Maoist Centre, at his residence in Lalitpur today.

Dahal, chair of the then CPN-MC, has held the meeting on the day following his meet with co-chair of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, on Sunday.

Former Home Minister and the then CPN-MC Standing committee member Janardhan Sharma's personal secretary confirmed that the meeting that started at around 8:00 am is underway in Lalitpur. It has been learnt that Dahal has called the meeting to consult with his comrades on the NCP (NCP)'s crucial issues.

Yesterday's secretariat meeting of NCP had raised the issue of general convention, regarding which a faction of party members led by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal among others had expressed uncertainty. However, NCP co-chair Dahal asserted that it was PM Oli's idea to propose to hold the special general convention and that he had not reached any understanding with Oli on this issue.

Other leaders including NCP standing committee member Yubaraj Gyawali expressed their views that PM may have floated the idea of the general convention in an attempt to buy time and ultimately win over those leaders who have asked him to step down.

It has been learnt that Dahal has been holding the discussions as crucial party issues have not been brought to any conclusion with the continuous postponement of the standing committee meeting of NCP (NCP) time and again.

Janardhan Sharma, Pampha Bhusal, Hariol Prasad Gajurel, Devendra Poudel, among other members of the then CPN-MC have participated in the meeting.

The then CPN-UML and CPN-MC unified two years ago on July 19, 2018, after executing the agreement the two parties had reached on party unity.