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🇳🇵 Nepal /Elections & Politics

UML dissidents embrace the ‘awara’ label, launch ‘Awara Campaign’

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli used derogatory terms like 'awara' (aimless drifter) for party leaders seeking policy and leadership changes.
  • Dissident leaders have launched a satirical 'Awara Campaign,' mirroring India's 'cockroach movement' to protest the insult and advocate for internal reform.
  • This campaign highlights a growing dispute within the UML over the need for organizational changes following a poor election performance.

A satirical 'Awara Campaign' has emerged within Nepal's CPN-UML party following Chairman KP Sharma Oli's use of derogatory terms, 'awara' and 'uranthheula,' to describe party members advocating for policy and leadership changes. 'Awara' roughly translates to 'aimless drifter,' while 'uranthheula' means immature or frivolous.

Senior UML leaders, angered by Oli's remarks, gathered for tea at the party's Chyasal canteen, turning the mundane act into a politically charged protest. The 'Awara Campaign' is inspired by India's 'cockroach movement,' where activists adopted an insult as a political slogan. However, the Nepali campaign focuses on internal party reform rather than nationwide protests.

Let all the awaras across the country come together and go to the party office in Chyasal to drink tea.

— Awara Campaign organizersThe campaign's slogan inviting supporters to unite and protest.

Gajendra Thapaliya, head of the UML Intellectual Council's 'Revival Campaign,' announced the initiative, stating, “Let all the awaras across the country come together and go to the party office in Chyasal to drink tea.” The campaign aims to unite leaders and activists supporting party restructuring. Organizers have created graphics that use Oli's insult as a political slogan, a tactic previously employed by UML activists who embraced the label 'jhole' before the Gen Z movement.

The current dispute stems from the UML's poor performance in the recent March 5 election. Several senior leaders, including vice-chairs Bishnu Paudel, Gokarna Bista, Prithvi Subba Gurung, and Raghuji Pant, along with general secretary Shankar Pokharel and deputy general secretary Yogesh Bhattarai, have been discussing organizational reform. A task force led by vice-chair Ram Bahadur Thapa reviewed the election defeat and proposed policy and leadership changes, but insiders say these proposals have not been acted upon. Pokharel has advocated for a special general convention to amend party statutes and restructure leadership, emphasizing the need to understand why grassroots voters and young people are disengaging from the party.

We have launched the Awara Campaign across the country for party restructuring.

— Gajendra ThapaliyaThe head of the UML Intellectual Council announces the campaign's objective.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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