Kathmandu, December 24 : The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is currently divided into the KP Sharma Oli faction and the Prachanda- Nepal faction. Both sides have been claiming to be legitimate. Both parties met separately in Kathmandu on Tuesday to take various decisions and claimed to be the legitimate NCP.

Pradeep Gyawali, who has been given the responsibility of the party’s spokesperson by the Oli-led central committee, said that any decision of the party is legal only if it is minuted and the meeting is attended by the party’s chairman and  general secretary party.

Meanwhile, the Prachanda-Nepal faction of the NCP has applied at the Election Commission (EC) for the official recofnition of the party. A letter signed by party Chairs Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Madhav Kumar Nepal has been registered at the commission for further information and necessary action, said Raj Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson of the commission.

The group claimed that 287 members of the 441-member  NCP Central Committee were in its favor and demanded that it should be given official recognition. Party leaders Surendra Prasad Pandey, Lilamani Pokhrel, and Mukti Pradhan Commission have registered the letter.

Gyawali said to the media, “The decision of that meeting has no legitimacy because it needs a chairperson, a general secretary and a minute for the decision to be valid. They made a meeting with their close ones, that doesn’t qualify as a meeting.The general secretary has to issue a notice. The current statute of the party says that the general secretary will decide the agenda of the meeting. Secondly, the party is not divided. At least the party is not divided as regards the Prime Minister’s side. Friends have been added to the committee. He has appealed for unity in the election. Therefore, there is no need to blame anyone for the division.”

Currently, the election symbol and the party’s official recognition have become a matter of prestige for both sides of the NCP. The Prachanda-Madhav faction has filed an application at the EC on Wednesday claiming their legitimacy.

During the training of Oli  faction, which has begun from Wednesday, the leaders noted that the election had to be declared in a compelling situation where there was no split in the party and instructed the cadres to go to the polls with high morale.

PM Oli’s supporters have submitted the list of their central committee at the Election Commission on Tuesday.  A meeting of pro-Oli central committee members was held in Baluwatar on Tuesday morning. The meeting added some members to the central committee and sent the list to the Election Commission.

Both the  Oli faction and the Prachanda-Nepal faction seem confident of getting  the sun  as their election symbol. The Election Commission has started examining the documents submitted by both groups.