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Nepal’s eight political parties have decided to back Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel for the country’s presidency scheduled for March 9. Poudel, 78, is likely to succeed incumbent Bidya Devi Bhandari as the next president. The election to the post of president is likely to change the current power equation as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has decided not to support the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) candidate for the post.
The eight political parties – Nepali Congress, CPN- Maoist Centre, CPN-Unified Socialist, Rastriya Janata Party, Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party, Rastriya Janamorcha, Nagarik Unmukti Party and Janamat Party – decided at a joint meeting, held at the residence of Prachanda on Friday evening, took the decision to vote for the Nepali Congress candidate for the post of president.
Meanwhile, the secretariat meeting of the CPN (UML) chaired by KP Oli has decided to field party vice chairman Subhas Nembang as its candidate for the presidential poll. The CPN (UML) will take the final decision on withdrawing support from the federal government and the ruling coalition after the election.
Till then, the CPN (UML) will continue to reach out to various political parties to seek support for its candidature.
Candidates wishing to contest the election should file their nominations on February 25 and the poll will be conducted on March 9. The meeting of the top leaders of NC, Maoist Centre, JSP and CPN (US) on Friday morning had agreed to restore the previous alliance – the alliance before that of the November 20 election.
One who gets support from the eight parties will easily get elected to the post of president as per the current strength of the parties in Parliament.
Poudel and Krishna Sitaula have publicly announced their willingness to contest the election for the post of president.
Author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (2011, Hachette) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (2014, Hachette). Awarded K Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and the 2011 Ben Gurion Prize by Israel.