Parties remain at odds over bases for carving out new constituencies, with major parties and Madhes-based forces pressing the Constituency Delimitation Commission (CDC) to consider their suggestions.

At a meeting called by the CDC in the Capital on Sunday to solicit suggestions from the parties for carving out new constituencies besides the number of districts, Rajendra Mahato of the Rastriya Janata Party and Upendra Yadav of the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal strongly urged the CDC to consider the population as the major basis.

Leaders of the major parties, on the other hand, insisted on taking into consideration both population and geography as per the constitutional provision.

Mahato and Yadav also called on the CDC to take the latest census report as a basis for the constituency delineation.

The CDC is unsure whether to consider 75 or 77 districts while carving the constituencies. Division of Nawalparasi and Rukum into two different provinces leaves people confused.

CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal suggested the CDC to complete its task soon to ensure timely polls.

Member of CDC Madhav Adhikary said the parties were also divided over 75 or 77 as the total number of districts. He, however, said the CDC would decide on the number of districts later.

The CDC, which is mandated to reduce the existing 240 constituencies to 165, has to submit its report by August 15.

Adhikary said the CDC had started collecting suggestions from people in all seven provinces. People are sending in their suggestions through email, fax as well as telephones besides dropping them off at the office in Kathmandu, he explained.

Also present at the meeting were Ram Saran Mahat, Minendra Rijal and Bimalendra Nidhi of the NC; Hitraj Pande from the CPN (Maoist Centre); KP Sharma Oli, Jhalanath Khanal, Rajendra Pandey and Agni Kharel from the UML; Baburam Bhattarai from the Naya Shakti Party Nepal and Narayan Man Bijukchhe 

from the Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party.

PM assures CDC of support

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has assured full cooperation and support to the newly formed Constitution Delimitation Commission for helping it accomplish its task on time.

During a meeting with CDS office bearers at the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday, the PM assured that the government was ready to extend help to the commission around the clock.

“I urge you to prepare the report on time,” the PM’s private secretariat quoted the PM as telling the CDC officials.

The government formed a commission led by former Supreme Court Justice Kamal Narayan Das to redraw the constituencies for the federal and provincial parliament elections.

The commission has got 21 days to submit its report. The commission has started its work, having prepared its terms of reference.