After both Sherdhan Rai and Hikmat Karki became candidates for the post of secretary from Chairman KP Sharma Oli's group, the balance of power and factional equations within Koshi have come to the surface.
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The Koshi Province party has reached a crucial juncture for party politics in the 11th general convention of the UML. Former Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai, incumbent Chief Minister Hikmat Karki and Pokharel group leader Binod Dhakal are competing for the post of central secretary from Koshi.
After both Sherdhan Rai and Hikmat Karki became candidates for the post of secretary from the Chairman KP Sharma Oli group, the balance of power and factional equation within Koshi has come to the surface.
Both leaders are included in the official list of the Oli group, while the other group has nominated Binod Dhakal as the candidate for the post of secretary. Dhakal is from Morang. The Oli group has a strong hold in Morang. In the recent representative member election, 20 out of 46 representatives are from the other group.
Power test within the Oli group
Former Chief Minister of Koshi Province Sherdhan Rai has long been considered a confidant of Oli. The promotion of Rai, who has experience in both the party organization and government levels, as the secretary is seen as a 'senior and experienced' card of the Oli group.
Incumbent Chief Minister Hikmat Karki, on the other hand, has emerged as another strong contender for the Oli group due to the recent provincial power equation, activism in the organization, and influence among the younger generation. The candidature of two powerful leaders from the same group has indicated that 'inner competition' has begun within the Koshi UML.
Establishment Trust of other groups, Dhakal
Oli Binod Dhakal, who became a candidate for the post of secretary from the other group, is known as a leader in Koshi for ideological clarity, organization building and working above factions. The other group has taken Dhakal's candidature as a strategic attempt to expand its influence at the central level from Koshi.
The fact that three candidates for secretary from the same province is also a sign of Koshi's growing political influence within the UML. However, the emergence of two strong candidates within the Oli group has increased the possibility of vote division, and an analysis has begun that the direct benefit of this could go to Dhakal, the candidate from the other group.
According to the general convention representatives, this competition for the post of secretary is not about individuals, but is also related to the future leadership of Koshi UML, the direction of the organization and the role of the province in central politics.
The final outcome of the UML general convention is likely to give a new message not only to the factional balance of power within the Koshi province, but also to the party's future leadership structure.
The rebels of Koshi
Dissatisfaction has been seen within the Chairman KP Sharma Oli group in the process of selecting a new leadership. The dissidents of Koshi have entered the competition as rebel candidates.
More than half a dozen leaders have registered rebel candidacies after their names were not included in the official candidate list made public by the Oli faction. From ministers to federal MPs, provincial assembly members and central-level leaders have also entered the fray as rebels.
Federal MP Rajendra Gautam, who is on the central member list of the Oli faction, had filed his candidacy for the post of Deputy General Secretary and Agni Kharel of Jhapa had filed his candidacy for the post of Secretary. However, Gautam has said that he is only a candidate for the post of Central Member after the final list was made public.
Similarly, Lalbabu Pandit of Morang has filed his candidacy for the post of Secretary. Bhim Prasad Acharya of Sunsari, who is on the central member list, has filed his candidacy for the post of vice-chairman.
Koshi Province's Internal Affairs and Law Minister Rewatiraman Bhandari, who is not on the Oli faction's list, has filed his candidacy for the open central member post. Oli faction leader and Koshi Province Assembly Chief Whip Bidur Lingthep has also filed his candidacy for the open central member post.
Similarly, Oli faction leader and former Koshi Province minister and MP Buddhi Kumar Rajbhandari of Solukhumbu, and Pashupati Basnet of Morang have also filed their candidacy for the open central member post.
Province MP Niradevi Khanal Acharya of Sunsari has filed her candidacy for the post of central member from the geography quota for women. She is the wife of UML leader Bhim Acharya, but her name is also not on the Oli faction's list.
Suhang Nembang of Ilam, Aindra Sundar Nembang of Panchthar, Kishore Kumar Adhikari of Okhaldhunga and Laxmi Gautam of Sunsari have also filed their candidacy. They were not included in the Oli faction's list as they were not central members before
