The formal announcement of merger between the two left forces—CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre)—is expected to take place within March 21 as top leaders have asked task forces formed for the purpose to submit their reports in 15 days.

Leaders had earlier said that they would make the announcement within three weeks as the task forces were expected to submit their reports in a week.

However, the first meeting of the two task forces held on Thursday at Baluwatar in the presence of both Prime Minister KP Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal decided to submit the reports in 15 days.

During the meeting, the two top leaders also picked coordinators of both the task forces formed on Monday to finalise the party unity.

“Two top leaders have directed both the task forces to submit their reports within March 9,” said UML leader Surendra Pande, adding that they had asked the task force members to do necessary preparations for the announcement.

The meeting decided that Maoist Centre leader Ram Bahadur Thapa will lead a task force formed to finalise the statute and organisational setting of the new outfit, while UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal will head the other for finalising political document of the Communist Party of Nepal—the new party after the merger.

The Thapa-led 11-member task force has Ishwor Pokhrel, Bishnu Poudel, Gokarna Bista, Beduram Bhusal, Surendra Pande and Raghubir Mahaseth from the UML and Girirajmani Pokhrel, Janardan Sharma, Matrika Yadav and Barshaman Pun from the Maoist Centre as members.

The 10-member task force under Nepal comprises UML leaders Bhim Rawal, Pradip Gyawali, Subash Nembang and Raghuji Panta and Maoist Centre’s Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Pampha Bhusal, Dev Gurung and Devendra Poudel as members.