Deuba eyes PM post

REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, Jan 31: With just two days remaining for fielding nomination for the prime ministerial candidate in the parliament, Nepali Congress (NC) is embroiled in a dispute as to who should be the party´s candidate for prime minister.

Though the establishment faction of the party has been maintaining that parliamentary party leader automatically becomes the prime ministerial candidate, another faction led by Sher Bahadur Deuba including some leaders disgruntled with the establishment faction have maintained that the prime ministerial candidate should be endorsed by the party´s Central Working Committee (CWC).

NC leader Arjun Narsingh KC, who has been projecting himself as neutral lately, said the party should decide its prime ministerial candidate through CWC meeting. "It is appropriate to decide the party´s prime ministerial candidate through the CWC meeting since Paudel´s candidacy was also endorsed and withdrawn by the party´s CWC meeting before," said KC.

Sources said Deuba faction has asked President Sushil Koirala to call a CWC meeting at the earliest to pick a prime ministerial candidate and sought support from the party president and Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Paudel for his candidacy.

It is appropriate to decide the party´s prime ministerial candidacy through the CWC meeting since Paudel´s candidacy was also endorsed and withdrawn by the party´s CWC meeting before.
-- Arjun Narsingh KC

The top leaders of the party are set to meet again on Monday.

An emergency meeting of the NC CWC meeting on January 12 had decided to withdraw Paudel´s candidacy hours before the scheduled 17th round of prime ministerial voting in parliament to pave the way for the formation of a consensus government. As there was no agreement among parties on consensus government during the 12 days given by the president, the big three parties -- Maoist, NC and the UML -- are set to field their own candidates for prime minister.

Deuba faction has maintained that the party should seek an alternative candidate for prime minister as Paudel failed to garner majority votes in parliament even after 16 rounds of voting in parliament. "Deuba had supported Paudel´s candidacy in the party´s CWC meeting in the past," said a leader close to Deuba. "Now Paudel should support Deuba´s candidacy in the CWC meeting."

The leader, who asked to be unnamed, also said they will raise this issue in the upcoming CWC. "We have a majority in the central committee," he said, adding, "The party should not make Paudel candidate again. There are many other leaders of his stature in the party."