National
Left leaders dwell on new govt at centre
Top leaders of the left alliance, which has registered a landslide victory in the recently held House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections, have started discussions to prepare their further political strategy, including government formation at the centre and party unity.Tika R Pradhan
Top leaders of the left alliance, which has registered a landslide victory in the recently held House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections, have started discussions to prepare their further political strategy, including government formation at the centre and party unity.
CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday held talks with CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli at the latter’s residence in Balkot.
With the left alliance winning 116 of the 165 seats under the first-past-the-post system and 58 (UML: 41, Maoist Centre: 17) out of 110 seats (as of 8pm Friday as per a rough calculation based on Sainte-Laguë method) under the proportional representation system of the HoR, it is poised to form a new government at the centre, with UML’s Oli tipped as the next prime minister. In that case, Maoist Centre’s Dahal is most likely to take the reins of the new unified party.
While forging an electoral alliance on October 3, the UML and the Maoist Centre had reached a deal to share seats on the basis of 60:40 ratio. This formula is also likely to be applied when they strike a power-sharing deal when a new government is formed.
It is still unclear how the senior leaders of the two parties will be managed when they go for unity, as announced at the time of forging the electoral alliance. “The two leaders have agreed to begin necessary groundwork for the formation of a new government at the centre and party unity simultaneously,” said Maoist Centre leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha, adding that the top leaders would chart out a plan and move ahead accordingly. The two parties have also called internal meetings to discuss issues related to government formation, merger and management of senior leaders in the unified party.
The Maoist Centre is holding its secretariat meeting on Monday. Similarly, the UML will call its secretariat meeting in a few days to discuss the latest developments, said UML leader Bishnu Rimal.
Friday’s was the first meeting between Oli and Dahal since the elections and left alliances’ overwhelming victory.