Nepal political turmoil: After meeting President BD Bhandari, NCP leader PK Dahal holds talks with PM KP Oli; key party meet on July 6

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Kathmandu: Amid growing demand for resignation of KP Oli in the rival faction of Nepal Communist Party, senior party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal met the Nepal Prime Minister at his Baluwatar residence on Sunday (July 5). The second round of meeting between the two leaders is likely to take place on tomorrow, reported ANI.

According to reports, Dahal had first President Bidya Devi Bhandari before holding talks with KP Oli. 

Meanwhile, a crucial meeting of Nepal's ruling communist party to decide the political future of embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was postponed until July 6 to allow more time for the top leadership to iron out their differences over his autocratic style of functioning and anti-India statements.

The meeting of the Nepal Communist Party's 45-member powerful Standing Committee was scheduled to be held on July 4. But it was postponed at the last minute.

According to The Himalayan Times report, the rival faction of the NCP has been demanded Oli's resignation from the post of Prime Minister while some other leaders have asked him to quit both posts of PM as well as party co-chair. Oli has, however, refused to quit. According to Standing Committee member Haribol Gajurel, the stalemate continues with both Oli and Dahal sticking to their guns.

Dahal told Oli on Saturday that despite the agreement between them on leading the government by turns, he had given the latter the full five-year term, but the Prime Minister failed to run the country well and there was growing frustration in the party, according to Gajurel. Apart from holding one-on-one negotiations, Oli and Dahal are also talking through their confidants to find a middle path.

NCP leaders have to consider the possibility that any attempt by the Dahal-Nepal faction to unseat the Prime Minister could lead to a vertical split of the party along with consequences not only at the central level but also the provincial and local levels.

Another Standing Committee member told The Himalayan Times that the Oli`s decision to bring ordinance to allow party dissidents to split their parties with the support of either 40 per cent members of the Central Committee or the Parliamentary Party, and his decision to abruptly prorogue the budget session of the Parliament had riled rival faction leaders.