The joint task force of the left alliance has started discussion on the criteria to select the candidates for the National Assembly polls and other positions in the provincial assemblies and governments. 

The first meeting of the joint task force led by CPN-UML leader Subas Nembang held at the UML parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar has set few criteria for the selection on which detailed discussions would be held in the upcoming meetings.

Since three members of the task force— two from UML Shanker Pokhrel and Surendra Pandey and Barsha Man Pun from Maoist Centre— were absent in Friday’s meeting, the task force is expected to take concrete decision in the next meeting.  Pokhrel and Pandey were outside Kathmandu Valley while Pun was taken indisposed.

Maoist Centre leaders Ram Bahadur Thapa and Matrika Yadav had attended the meeting from the Maoist Centre.

Nembang said the criteria discussed in Friday’s meeting for selecting the candidates includes results of local and provincial polls and strength of the parties in the provinces, feelings of party unity, and individual capacity of the candidates for the respective positions. 

The sharing would be based on the 60:40 ratio between UML and Maoist Centre, as per the division that was used during the federal parliament and provincial assembly polls.

“We will share the power at provinces and select candidates for National Assembly without hampering the spirit of party unification,” Nembang said. 

He added there will not be any discrimination on power sharing deal since the two parties are destined to unite to form a single party in the near future. “Individual skills and capacity would also be the major criteria for the respective positions,” said Nembang.

Out of seven provinces the left alliance will form governments at six provinces. The task force also decided to maintain ethnic balance while selecting the chief ministers and other positions of the provinces.

Some aspirants for the chief ministers include Sherdhan Rai and Bhim Acharya for Province 1, Asta Laxmi Shakya for Province 3, Prithvi Subba Gurung and Kiran Gurung for Province 4, Shanker Pokhrel for Province 5, Mahendra Bahadur Shahi and Naresh Bhandari from Maoist Centre and Prakash Jwala and Yamlal Kandel from UML for Province 6 and Birman Chaudhary and Jhapat Bohora for Province 7.

Meanwhile CPN-UML’s secretariat meeting held on Friday decided not to select those who were defeated in the recent three polls—Local, provincial assembly and federal parliament as the candidates for upcoming National Assembly polls. 

UML has set six criteria for the candidates of NA polls —eligible to become NA member, long contribution to the party and those having special contribution in the field of social work, culture, art, literature, science and technology among others with affiliation with the party. Candidates would be selected balancing between geographical and social sector besides the experts on different fields. The provincial committees of the party would recommend the candidates for the NA polls.

As per the election schedule the parties must submit the list of candidates at the EC within January 19.

The meeting has also decided to provide training on the Single Transferable Vote (STV) election system for all the voters of the party at all seven provinces for which the concerned provincial committees would manage the training programme.