Madhav Nepal and Woli sharply differ

January 8, 2003
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Kathmandu: The UML which is busy in finalizing its agenda to be submitted at its February convention in Janakpur is plagued by a new “disease”.

Most of the high ranking UML leaders now have started suspecting the very credentials of their own comrade-in-arms.

The disease is related with the Palace. Top-hats of the UML who differ with each other either on ideological grounds or even on matters pertaining to the “status” of the other contender have begun mud-slinging onto the other.

To come to the point, there has been a marathon in dubbing the other nearest arch political rival as being close to the “Palace”. In doing so, each wishes to declare the other as a man of the Palace and wield power of the high rank in the approaching convention.

Madhav Nepal and K.P.Sharma Woli are such two good names who have waged a crusade against each other. These two personalities are on record to have deep and never ending animosity with each other.

Only recently, Madhav Nepal accused Woli indirectly to have initiated hob-nobbing with a Palace that acted unconstitutionally beginning October 4 last year. To recall, Woli was granted a Royal audience at a time when the party General-Secretary Monsieur Madhav Nepal was on a foreign tour of Colombo supposedly at the invitation of Jana Vimukti Peramuna, JVP. This definitely infuriated the party boss to the extent that he lost no time in deriding at his nearest-dearest arch political foe—Woli.

Woli too retorted with equal force and this he did right at the ongoing party meeting that is finalising agenda to be pushed at the Janakpur convention.

Woli in essence said that the party and the boss, implied Madhav Nepal, exhibited its mild gesture for the King’s recent political moves. Woli questioned the very motives hidden in the political draft paper prepared by Madhav Nepal which remained silent on the King’s moves. In other words, Woli injected among his fellow-colleagues that it was Madhav Nepal, and not him, who were close to the Palace.

The problem is that both Woli and Madhav enjoy sizeable numerical strength in the UML’s standing and the central committee which does not allow both to out maneuver the other. The process though is on but it would take some more time to ascertain as to who commanded real power in the UML.

Observers believe that at the end of the game it would be Madhav who will have out-maneuvered his political foe—Woli. Insiders of the UML say that Madhav is far clever than Woli and also enjoys foreign support, comparatively speaking.

The other equally competent UML leader, Bam Dev Gautam too presumably preparing himself for the GS candidacy and has been demanding greater democracy in the functioning of the party’. According to this leader, UML is not that transparent in its functioning at it should have been. In saying so, he is hinting at the fact that Madhav Nepal has been steering the party in his whims.

All put together, what could be said is that the Janakpur convention of the UML will not be an easy cake-walk for Madhav Nepal.