Miscellaneous
Poudel supporters want PP vote deferred
As the Nepali Congress prepares to hold its Parliamentary Party (PP) leader election on April 4, senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel and his supporters have demanded a brief postponement of the vote.As the Nepali Congress prepares to hold its Parliamentary Party (PP) leader election on April 4, senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel and his supporters have demanded a brief postponement of the vote.
Poudel continues to press party President Sher Bahadur Deuba to abide by his own “one man one post” principle, which means that the former should get the PP leader through consensus. Poudel’s supporters want more time for a deal on the candidate.
A party committee led by Ramesh Rijal is preparing to hold the vote on April 4, as proposed by the Central Working Committee. Prakash Man Singh and Ram Sharan Mahat on Saturday requested Rijal to delay the election process. The committee will meet on Sunday to set the date and to make other preparations.
Deuba is in favour of immediate election as he believes the delay would affect other party works.
“We still have a week, which is sufficient for building consensus,” said Rijal. Deuba and his supporters have said the vote could be deferred by a few days but not any longer. Deuba and Poudel are vying for the PP leadership. Leaders close to Poudel argue that since Deuba holds party presidency, Poudel should get to lead the PP. Singh said this arrangement would cement party unity. Deuba, however, is firm in his belief that he should get the PP leader as per the tradition.
Poudel and his supporters are meeting senior leaders close to Deuba with the message that the NC president’s goal of ending factionalism in the party would not materialise with Deuba holding the two powerful positions. Prakash Sharan Mahat, a leader close to Deuba, said there was no possibility of supporting Poudel.
Poudel was defeated by Deuba as the party chief in the recently concluded general convention. As per the NC statute, PP leader is the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Before the convention, top candidates dangled the PP post in their bid to woo top contenders but there was no agreement.