Kathmandu, April 22

The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) named chairpersons and secretaries of all the 77 district chapters today at a programme organised to mark the formation of the original Communist Party of Nepal on this day in 1949.

The ruling party named former CPN-UML leaders as chiefs of 45 district chapters and former CPN-Maoist Centre leaders as chiefs of 32 districts.

In district chapters where former UML leaders are chairpersons, posts of secretaries have gone to the former CPN-MC leaders and in district chapters where former CPN-MC leaders are chairpersons, posts of secretaries have gone to former UML leaders.

The ruling party succeeded in naming the office bearers of district chapters after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also a co-chair of NCP, and senior NCP leader Madhav Kumar Nepal buried the hatchet.

The party’s secretariat meeting held at the prime minister’s official residence in Baluwatar yesterday had unanimously finalised the names of chairpersons and secretaries of all district chapters.

Addressing the programme today, party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal said his party would hold its first general convention within a year.  He said NCP would also hold its districts and diaspora committees’ conference within eight months. “Naming district committee members was one of the hardest things to achieve,” Dahal said.

Dahal added that forces within and outside the country wanted to derail the merger process. “But we succeeded in finalising the merger,” he said.

Oli praised Dahal’s role in the unification process.

The prime minister said the remaining work of unification would be completed within a few days.

NCP General Secretary Bishnu Poudel said district committees were formed

on the basis of consensus. “We’ll also forge consensus on other committees, including the politburo and the party’s sister wings,” he said. Poudel said politburo and other party wings would be formed   soon.

Former CPN-UML and CPN-MC merged on 17 May 2018 to form the NCP.

The unification process was halted for months due to disputes among NCP Co-chair and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal factions.