Kathmandu, Aug. 25 -- A little over a year after its formation, the Nepal Communist Party is finding itself at a crossroads, and leaders say that while the party has an opportunity to evolve as a united force, it also faces the risk of falling into a factional quagmire. This, however, is not because of the feud between leaders of the former CPN-UML and the Maoist party, which announced their merger in May last year.

Leaders say the spectre of factionalism from the UML days is now haunting the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). Even though the party was struggling to complete its unification process by appointing leaders in districts committees, organisations and departments, leaders, leaving aside some quibbles, had appeared largely united. Th...