No one denies that the internal squabble in the country's ruling party has cast a dark shadow in the overall welfare of the party that has been reveling in a near two-thirds majority in the Parliament. A section of the party leaders, including most Secretariat members, is egging on the Prime Minister to listen to and act on their demand, which the NCP Chair and Prime Minister has kept warding off. As the disagreements among the comrades have aggravated, there is a wider fear that the party may be hurtling towards a division. Many political analysts say unless party bigwigs resolve their differences at the soonest, they will find it difficult to sustain the party solidarity for long.

With bitterness in the party going from bad to worse,  Prime Minister and the party chair KP Sharma Oli has declared that he would not give up the two vital posts as demanded by his adversaries. The reasons the PM furnished for not tendering his resignation are rather potent ones. Since the sovereign people have offered their mandate to lead the government, there is no reason he should quit under any coercion. Addressing a gathering in Sankuwasabha during his inspection tour of the Arun-III Hydropower Project and a highway the other day, he opined that his resignation would have undermined the people's mandate and aspirations. Also, the united NCP had pledged the people during elections that he would serve the government as the new PM, if the party won the polls.

 The PM”s revelation has delivered a telling blow to his opponents, who have been expecting that the PM would give in to their demands after they unleashed mounting pressures on him. With his declaration, the PM, who has continuously come under assaults from the rival faction ever since the two former communist parties united some three years ago, must have given heartburns to his rivals, who are likely to stoke the existing rivalry further. Some party insiders claim that the PM lacks enough numerical weight in party's powerful committees, including the Secretariat and the Standing Committee, which his opponents may take advantage of and may try to coerce the PM into subjugation. 

Despite all rancour, the onus to get a way out from the present quagmire lies on the PM and party chair. There are options that he can pursue to douse this simmering rivalry. Gaining the confidence of his party comrades, who prefer to see the party unity intact at any cost and mobilising them to contribute to unity and harmony would be the first and foremost step for him. A good deal of party workers, comprising senior leaders of the rival factions, is averse to any split in the party. They call for the feuding sides to soften stance and make an honest approach to deal with the serious discrepancies among the party's leaders. They perceive that a split in the ruling party would have a far-reaching implication in the country's politics. It would not only weaken the ruling communist party and the communist movement, but also give rise to political instability in the country. The PM, and his rivals too, know this very well. Hence, they should bury their hatchet to save the party from division and nation from falling into the political abyss.