2008 Elections
CPN (UML) advocates a moderate leftist attitude. It played a major role in bringing Maoists to the negotiating table. However, the party has not been able to maintain a firm stance on issues, particularly during drafting the interim constitution, which showed a dual nature of the leadership. For the April 2008 Constituent Assembly election, the party rejected the proposal of electoral alliance with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), citing its own popularity among people, and it decided to compete in all constituencies. It turned out to be a grave mistake, as the CPN (UML) failed to secure a single place out of 10 in the Kathmandu district, once considered to be its lal-killa (लाल किल्ला), or stronghold region. The biggest shock to the party was that General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal was defeated in an election by Jhakku Prasad Subedi of the CPN (M), who had been viewed as having very little popularity. Following his defeat, Madhav Kumar Nepal submitted his resignation from the post of General Secretary of the party, the post he held for 15 years. The CPN (UML) won a total of 103 seats in the election (out of 575 elected seats), placing third behind the CPN (M) and the Nepali Congress. The party left the government after the election, citing the "clear will of the people" expressed through the election as the reason.
Read more about this topic: Communist Party Of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
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