Oli announced before the UML convention – ‘There will be no discussion, I will speak and the general convention will be over.’ Earlier, kings used to travel around the country. Panchas would gather. The king would speak and the assembly would be over. Oli has captured this style. I find it difficult to call this the UML general convention in this article.

Because this convention does not seem to do anything other than cheering for Oli and electing Oli. There is no arrangement to be like a general convention. Instead, it seems to insult honest UML workers.

It seems that insulted workers will be added. Oli will be the all-powerful again. That is why it does not seem like a general convention. There is fear before the general convention. Who will be Bhim Rawal now? The image of Tanka Karki from the 40s has now been surpassed by the image of Bhim Rawal. The general convention that has been feared so much cannot be like a general convention at all. It can only be a kind of gathering of five.

The confluence of general convention discipline and freedom

Oli is currently the most unpopular in society. After the creative and new type of rebellion of 23 and 24 Bhadra, Oli's political legitimacy has ended. But UML party workers cannot realize this.

How did the UML party become? What kind of workers did they become? Those who do not even know the unpopularity of their leader or are ready to turn the party into ashes even after knowing it. A person who has invested in the party for years is turning it into ashes, but the cadres are still interested in the same thing. They are saying that Oli is needed. The reason for all this is that the cadres have been raised in slavery. That is why the general convention will not be like the general convention.

The general convention is a confluence of discipline and freedom. The cadres must have felt freedom. The freedom to participate in discussions constructively like in the real general convention will not be in this gathering. Because Oli has said – I speak and the general convention will be over. The cadres have been kept in the cage of UML. The members of the cage say what they were taught. Therefore, this general convention will not do anything.

In Nepal, discipline and slavery are understood as the same. Whereas, discipline is an attempt to stay within the party's beliefs. Slavery is the tendency to cheer for the leader. But in the UML gathering, the cadres will only gather, not have a point of view.

Relevance of the General Convention

Why should political parties hold a general convention? What is its meaning and justification? There is no in-depth discussion about this. The general convention has only been made a tradition. The general convention is needed for the testing and development of leadership. Leaders are tested every four to five years, new leaders can be born and come to the leadership.

The general convention is needed because it will revitalize the party. In the next four to five years, new contradictions and complications will arise due to the dynamics of society. New ideas are needed to overcome such complications. A broad debate is needed for new ideas.

Knowledge is being produced in society from various angles. The general convention is to churn out that knowledge and decide the future path. The UML general convention will neither discuss leadership issues nor discuss policies. Why is the general convention needed to continue what is there now?

The general convention is not to be held through deceit and conspiracy. The general convention is an opportunity for open discussion. It is a platform where all members consider themselves equal and discuss. In the general convention, party members will fly like eagles ideologically. Discussions and brainstorming of ideas from various angles are to be held. The path to the future is to be determined through this brainstorming. But for the cadres, UML is no longer an open sky, it has become a closed cage. The cage has been taken over by the leader. In such a situation, it will not be allowed to be like a real convention. 

Before the general convention, Oli has formed 'Youth Volunteers'. This is a different name for the Mandala power. Who has he created such a power to fight against? What does this power do in the general convention? It is clear. It will chase away the opposition in the general convention. Oli loves such a power.

After the general convention, such a power has been created to disrupt the progressive agenda. Oli always ridicules the movement. Once upon a time, he used to ridicule the republican movement. He used to ridicule the people's war. Now, he ridicules the Gen-G rebellion. The Gen-Gs who, when they were reading, writing, and having fun, could not tolerate the situation in the country and rebelled. Even to fight against them, Oli has built a Mandalay-type force.

Oli has no remorse for such murder. Oli gives the impression of Ceausescu. He takes honorary degrees like Ceausescu. He builds a view tower like Ceausescu built a palace. No matter how many honorary degrees he takes, he cannot understand his unpopularity. He cannot feel even the slightest bit about the work he does that is not needed.

He rejects the culture of debate like Ceausescu. As a result, the members who come to the UML convention will not use their sovereignty. They will be brought in by swearing to win Oli by touching copper and basil. In this sense, the general convention will be transformed into a gathering of five.

The revival of democracy

Democracy itself is a big process. Sometimes obstacles arise in that process. In addition, the journey of democracy in Nepal is very difficult. Democracy also falls into crisis from time to time. After the Gen-G rebellion, democracy has sought a new dimension. It has sought advanced democracy. The Gen-G rebellion is an expression of opposition to party and leader systems.

At present, there is no party and leader system in UML, only Oli-terror. In fact, the Gen-G rebellion is trying to transform it into a party. But there is no possibility of the UML general convention transforming the party. What kind of democracy? What kind of party? The UML is holding the general convention by dodging these pressing questions today.

Oli is free to dodge the question, but the consequences it will bring will be dangerous. Although this is not an important issue for Oli, it is strange that the entire UML is behind Oli. In fact, the issue of Oli representing UML is ridiculous. He should have left UML after the Gen-G rebellion. The general convention should have been held without Oli. That would have been the only way out. Whether the UML would have transformed or not is another matter, but that was the path that had to be decided.

What are the basic beliefs of good governance that the country seeks? What is its strategy? How to transform the organs of the state? There is no thought about such matters within Oli. He has simply wrapped the Gen-G rebellion in the guise of a conspiracy. Let's say he was right, as if he had fallen into a conspiracy.

Why does the country need the UML with this leadership and this idea now? The country cannot bear this burden now. Therefore, what is happening is that the UML is being cut off from society, nothing else. This is a sad thing for honest cadres within the UML, but in the structure in which the party stands, there is no place for honest cadres. The general convention is a place where leaders have to answer. It is a place to answer for what happened in the past. It is a place to be accountable to the cadres. But at the UML general convention, neither the cadres will ask for answers, nor will they have to answer them. This question was dismissed because it was raised in a conspiratorial manner.

There is a big problem in the party's operating system right now. There is a problem in the party's decision-making system. Even if the UML convention questions those systems, there will be no answer. Just as the king was not questioned in the Panch Vela, and even if he was, he did not have to answer, the UML convention is trying to follow the same path.

This is how the process of building knowledge in communist parties is problematic. It is believed that the bigger the leader, the more he has a wealth of knowledge. It is believed that big leaders pour knowledge from above and irrigate it and cadres become knowledgeable. Knowledge is not made to be intertwined with the contradictions of society, it is not crushed. On top of that, Oli considers himself a repository of multidimensional knowledge. In this sense, even if this general convention questions Oli's knowledge, his knowledge will be approved. 

Social foundation and Oli

Oli still feels that he has power. I have strength. But Oli does not know that he has no other strength than the strength of his slaves within the party. He may stand within the party, but it is difficult to stand before society. Standing within the party means standing among certain slaves. But the foundation for standing openly in society has collapsed. The old world has collapsed. It is difficult for Oli to find a place to stand. But it is also difficult for Oli to understand this reality.

Oli still wants to give the illusion that he is powerful outside. He is expressing his desire to propagate the illusion as truth. Being elected as the president at the general convention is like a technical matter, but standing in society is a political aspect. There is no point in standing within the party after being proven incompetent in the political process.