Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the ruling party's executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Monday held informal consultations for two hours to sort out their differences, but the talks remained inconclusive, party sources said.
The two leaders held a marathon three-hour long meeting on Sunday but failed to agree on a power-sharing deal. "Sunday's talks were positive and on Monday also the talks were held in the same direction," a party leader close to the Prime Minister said.
During Monday's meeting, Prime Minister Oli was accompanied by his close confidante Subash Nembang, who has been working as a mediator to resolve the differences between the two warring factions. Prachanda was accompanied by senior leader and former prime minister Jhala Nath Khanal.
As the Standing Committee meeting has been postponed indefinitely, the two leaders were making efforts to decide a fresh date for the meeting of the party's 45-member powerful body, sources said.
Oli postponed the crucial Standing Committee meeting on July 28 for the ninth time. While Oli stood for calling the Secretariat meeting to resolve the differences, Prachanda said that it would be inappropriate to call the Secretariat meeting as the Standing Committee meeting that was put off on July 28 is yet to be over, My Republica newspaper reported.
"The meeting between the two top leaders of the NCP ended inconclusive as both the sides stood adamant in their demands," the paper said.
Citing party insiders, the paper said that Prime Minister Oli wants the Secretariat meeting to resolve the key issues of intra-party dispute as he now commands a majority in the nine-member body after Vice Chairman Gautam stood in his favour.
Prachanda, who is backed by Madhav Nepal, believes that the Standing Committee could take decisions favourable to him as their faction commands a comfortable majority, the paper said.
Gautam had proposed that Oli be allowed to stay as prime minister for the remaining term of the House of Representatives (HoR), that is, two-and-a-half years, and chairman of the party until the unity general convention that Oli has proposed to hold by mid-December.
Similarly, Prachanda should be given the responsibility as the party's Chairman with all executive powers until the unity general convention of the NCP is held.
Gautam also proposed that Oli be allowed to run the government independently even though the Chairman will have all executive powers. He, however, proposed holding consultation in the party before taking any decisions on issues of national and international importance.
"As there was a difference between the two leaders whether to call the party's Secretariat meeting or the Standing Committee, the meeting was put off again with an agreement to sit again on Tuesday," the paper said.
Oli and Prachanda have held at least ten meetings in recent weeks to sort out the differences between them. But, as the Prime Minister did not accept the condition of a one-man-one-post, the talks failed. Oli has refused to give up his post as prime minister as well as a co-chairman of the NCP.
A bitter internal feud has been brewing in the ruling NCP since the last few weeks after top party leaders, including Prachanda, demanded Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were "neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate." They are also against Oli's autocratic style of functioning.
The differences grew further after Oli said that some of the ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura.
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