Dahal replaces PM Oli as parliamentary leader of Nepal's ruling party

Kathmandu: Pushpa Kamal Dahal, co-chair of the party">Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on Wednesday replaced KP Sharma Oli as parliamentary leader of the ruling NCP in Parliament. A meeting of the Dahal-Nepal faction today afternoon chose Dahal as the party's leader unanimously.

This comes after the Dahal and KP Oli faction in the ruling party on Tuesday convened two separate meetings of the Central Working Committee. The Dahal faction, which had a majority on basis of the number of Central Committee Members expelled Oli from the post of chairman while taking disciplinary action.

The faction led by Oli has claimed that a working committee meeting that isn't attended by the party secretary cannot be considered legitimate.

The developments come after President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved Parliament last week at Oli's recommendation and announced the dates for the general elections to be held in two phases on April 30 and May 10 in 2021.

Seven Cabinet Ministers had submitted their resignations after the proposal of Oli for the Parliament dissolution was ratified by the President.

Meanwhile, both the Opposition and the factions of the ruling party had taken to the streets against the dissolution of the Parliament, deeming it unconstitutional.

Oli has been facing pressure from the rival factions of the NCP led by former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Nepal. Apart from the political sides of things, Dahal on Tuesday had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Nepal caretaker Oli's move to dissolve the Parliament.

Earlier today, Nepal Supreme Court sent the writ petitions against President Bhandari's decision to dissolve the Parliament to a Constitutional Bench of 5 members which will start its hearing from Friday.

This comes after the bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana heard writ petitions filed in the Supreme Court against the dissolution of the House of Representatives.

A total of 12 writ petitions have been filed in the Apex Court out of which the hearing of 11 petitions are scheduled to begin from today, while one is scheduled for Friday.