Kathmandu — Seven leaders have quit the newly formed Nepali Communist Party (NCP) led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, criticizing it as a “club for the elderly.”

गम्भीर संकटमा प्रचण्ड : नेताहरू लगातार छोड्दै, आधा दर्जनभन्दा बढीले साथ छाडे (पत्रसहित)

The leaders alleged that party leadership was selected through quotas rather than the people’s mandate, misleading the public. They have joined the Progressive Democratic Party (PRLOPA) to work for free education, healthcare, employment, good governance, social justice, and proportional representation based on federalism and population.

Leaders leaving Prachanda’s party include:

• Bal Krishna Shrestha – Central Vice President, Neva National Liberation Front

• Amitabh Bachchan Das – Former NCP Maoist Centre, Regional In-Charge No. 2

• Santosh Raj Ghimire – Former NCP Maoist Centre

• Sunil Rauniyar – Former NCP Maoist Centre, Regional Coordinator No. 2

• Dinesh Prasad Yadav – Former NCP Maoist Centre, Kalikamai Ga.Pa.

• Phanindra Prasad Gupta – Youth Leader

• Gayatri Singh – Vice President, Central Audit Commission, Akhil Krantikari