NC Chitwan district committee demands mayor post for Bharatpur

KATHMANDU, May 6: A team of Nepali Congress (NC) District Working Committee of Chitwan submitted a letter to NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba among other office bearers of the party on Thursday. In the letter, the committee has demanded that the NC be given the post of mayor of Bharatpur Metropolis. 

However, as per the plan to share mayoral berths in the country’s six metropolises among the ruling five-party alliance, the post of Bharatpur mayor was given to the CPN (Maoist Center). However, there has been strong opposition against the center's decision in Chitwan. 

A meeting of the NC district committee of Chitwan, held in Bharatpur on May 3, unanimously claimed the post of mayor of Bharatpur Metropolis. Following the decision, a team of NC Chitwan reached Kathmandu to put pressure on the central leadership of the party. Despite strong pressure within the NC for the top post in Bharatpur Metropolis, the party’s center leadership ignored their demands.

Leaders close to Shekhar Koirala including NC central members Tek Prasad Gurung and Dinesh Koirala from Chitwan district, leaders Jit Narayan Shrestha, Krishna Lal Sapkota and Tika Ram Neupane have been protesting against it. 

NC outgoing President Jit Narayan Shrestha, too, is against giving the post to CPN (Maoist Center) as per the party’s decision. Although, Shrestha had raised the same issue during the district convention of the NC, he had said that he would abide by the decision of the party at the last minute.

Meanwhile, NC leader and former lawmaker Jagannath Poudel has nominated himself as the mayoral candidate of Bharatpur Metropolis from the independent cluster. Though leaders including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khan and Minister of State Umesh Shrestha requested him to withdraw his candidature, Poudel has not followed their suggestions.

In Bharatpur, the CPN (Maoist Center) fielded Renu Dahal, daughter of Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as the mayoral candidate of the five-party ruling alliance while the NC was given the post of deputy mayor. The NC has nominated Chitrasen Adhikari for the post of deputy mayor.

On Thursday, PM Deuba attended an election assembly held at Bharatpur to address the issues raised by the party. “There has been a conspiracy to break the coalition, and we will address the issue. In any case, the conspiracy to break the alliance cannot and should not happen in Bharatpur and Chitwan,” he said.

Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal and NC central member Shankar Bhandari among others were also present at the program.