Eleven days on, the 15th central committee meeting of the CPN (UML), which was initially planned for five days, still strives to fine-tune the party’s strategies for the upcoming constituent assembly polls.

The meeting, which kicked off on June 24, opened debate on general secretary Madhav Nepal’s political paper from June 28 and the debate is likely to continue for 2-3 days more, party sources said. The general secretary’s 23-page dossier basically lays emphasis on how the party should prepare itself for the electoral battle.

Some central members are learnt to have demanded the 8th general convention of the party to elect a new leadership before the CA election, but the majority has backed the current leadership until the polls. Leaders are also divided over the idea of ‘leftist alliance’ in the polls.

Curiously enough, while reporting to the central committee meeting, almost all zonal in-charges claimed that the party was in a winning position in most of the electoral constituencies in their respective working areas.

The central members have unequivocally complained about the fragile security situation in the wake of forceful activities of the Maoist youth wing, the Young Communist League (YCL) and the killings and abductions carried out by various groups in Terai.

On Thursday, central committee members Shankar Pokharel, Ram Nath Dhakal, Raghuji Pant and Bishu Poudel commented on Nepal’s political paper.

In today’s meeting the leaders stressed the need to initiate dialogue within the eight-party alliance to forge consensus on the agenda of democratic republic, a statement issued by Amrit Bohara, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, said.

The central committee meeting will resume 10 am Friday.