Nepali Congress central committee meeting Wednesday said it has taken “seriously” what it called the King’s “intervention” in appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and Commissioners, the party said.

The party has taken a clarification from speaker Taranath Ranabhatt, who is a member of the Constitutional Council that made the recommendation, Krishna Shitaula, a central committee member told HBC radio. Ranabhatt is a member of the Nepali Congress.

A published report said the Council Saturday recommended three names to the King for Chief Election Commissioner by overturning an earlier decision by recommending one name only.

But Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, who is also a member of the Council, said he had never forwarded the recommendation to the King.

Meanwhile, the CPN-UML in a statement Wednesday denied a claim by top party leader K. P. Oli that General Secretary Madav Nepal met Maoist leaders in Lucknow last week without informing the party. The statement said the party had decided to meet the King and rebels to resolve a crisis.

A meeting of the United Left Front chaired by Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar Wednesday decided there is no alternative to what it called the fight against regression and called for a “common stand.”

The call for a common stand comes as five opposition parties decided in principle to broaden participation in the movement by including other parties.

The left parties asked Maoists to implement “effectively” its decision to stop killings, extortions and attacks on physical infrastructure.