With the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the Nepali Congress getting down to the nitty-gritty of a power sharing deal to form a new government under the leadership of Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Congress leaders have initiated deliberations on settling the portfolios and the names of their choice of ministers.

The Maoist Centre leadership has handed Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Barsaman Pun the responsibility to finalise their names of ministers, while NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba has tasked his two close aides Bimalendra Nidhi and Ramesh Lekhak.

Even though talks are at the initial phase, sources say, Nidhi, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Arjun Narsingh KC and Gopal Man Shrestha are likely contenders to lead the NC team in the new coalition.

“With a lot of aspirants, it has not been easy job for the party leadership. Regardless, it is pretty sure that one among the four names will lead our team,” said an NC leader, requesting anonymity.

The two parties had reached a preliminary agreement to give 12 ministries to the NC and 8 to the Maoists. However, a final deal on portfolio sharing is yet to be reached.

Among other ministries, the NC is likely to get Home, Local Development, Foreign Affairs, Energy and Education, while the Maoists will keep the Finance and Information.

According to a source, a few names in the NC team are close to being finalised by top leaders. Shekhar Koirala is most likely to oversee the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Prakash Sharan Mahat once again getting the Energy Ministry, Bal Krishna Khand taking up the Ministry of Local Development and Ramesh Lekhak possibly leading the Ministry of Law, Justice, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs.

Responding to the names of leaders being discussed to represent the NC, leader Ram Hari Khatiwada, however, urged the party leadership to induct new and young faces in the team this time around. “If other parties can send new faces to the government why can’t us?” he asked. “We have already told the party leadership to not only send the same names repeatedly but also to add new ones.”

Apart from Khatiwada’s, names of Udaya Rana, Shankar Bhandari, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, Farmullah Mansoor, Min Biswakarma and Rajan KC are also being discussed among the new faces, said sources. Party Treasurer Sita Devi Yadav is also said to be pushing for a ministerial berth.

When Rana was asked if he had been doing rounds to secure himself a ministry, he dismissed those suggestions.

“It is a nice gesture that my name has also been brought up, but I have not asked anyone to give me a portfolio,”

he said. “I am not in, what many people call, the dirty race.”