In a significant blow to CPN (UML) in Okhaldhunga, 38 district leaders and cadres, led by District Chairman Gyan Bahadur Khadka, defected to Nepali Communist Party (NCP) on Friday.
The defectors were officially welcomed into the party by NCP Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and Joint Coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal during a special ceremony.
The mass resignation was triggered by deep-seated dissatisfaction with CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli’s leadership style, which the leaders described as "autocratic and arrogant."
The tension peaked after the central leadership bypassed the district committee’s unanimous recommendations for upcoming election candidates, opting instead to field Asmita Thapa based on personal proximity to the center.
"By imposing a candidate against the district’s recommendation, the leadership has insulted local voters and cadres. This proves that totalitarianism has replaced democracy within the party," Chairperson Khadka stated during a press conference.
The defecting group includes high-ranking officials such as Vice-Chairman Kamal Prasad Neupane, Secretary Ashok Thapa
The other leaders jumping on the bandwagon are Youth Association Nepal Chairman Sudip Karki and All Nepal National Free Students Union Chairman Bibek Tamang.
The leaders further accused the central leadership of ignoring internal ideological debates and operating through a narrow "circle of loyalists," making it impossible to remain within the party.
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