The Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) is holding its seventh party convention 1-5 February in Janakpur, where a contest is expected between Khadga P Oli and Madhav Nepal. The two have already sparred over making the party more democratic and transparent by scrapping the general secretary post and replacing it with a chairman. The two are neck-to-neck, although Nepal is supposed to have the edge.

The party may give itself an image makeover with a new flag and new name. However, members seem reluctant to give up the hammer and sickle, preferring to combine it with the sun from the Nepali flag in the background. The sun is also the UML's election symbol. The new flag would distinguish the party from a spectrum of other communist splinter groups, including the deep-red CPN (Maoist). Some party stalwarts also want to take off "UML" tag and shorten the party name to simply: Communist Party of Nepal (CPN). The move, they say, will enhance the party's standing as the main communist group in Nepal and also reduce Western scepticism about its democratic credentials.

"Our party is by far the most democratic party as we hold elections from ward units right up to the party's central leadership," standing committee member, Amrit Kumar Bohara told us. While the party bosses are receptive to changing the flag, there is reluctance to change the name. "It's up to the delegates to decide. We don't want to impose decisions from the top," Bohara said.