A national consensus government has become the leitmotif of three major parties of late, but with all of them wishing to lead it, things have become but complicated.

The governing CPN-UML and its key coalition partner, the CPN (Maoist Centre), have been wrangling over government leadership for the past couple of weeks, while the Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament, has made a pitch for a new deal on power sharing to address the pressing issues facing the country, including implementation of the constitution, expediting reconstruction work and most importantly resolving the Madhes crisis.

The governing UML is saying that the incumbent government should be converted into national unity government based on the 16-point deal the major parties had reached on June 8 last year.

The UML leadership argues that the NC should honour the 16-point deal and support the incumbent government. The major parties in June last year, two months after the earthquakes devastated the country, had reached the 16-point deal on power sharing in order to expedite the constitution-drafting process, as per which the NC was to step down after the constitution promulgation to pave the way for the UML to lead the government. “The UML has always stood in favour of national consensus.

But national consensus does not mean replacing this political equation with a new one,” UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel said during an interaction with media in the Capital. “A national consensus government should be formed on the basis of the political agreement that was reached among major parties before statute promulgation.”

But NC leaders say there should be a fresh agreement on power sharing and to deal with the crisis facing the country. NC Central Committee member Ramesh Lekhak said though all parties agree on consensus idea, an agreement on national consensus government continues to elude them for the different positions they have taken. The Maoist Centre is for leading the government if “national consensus can be forged in favour of party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal”.