Leaders including NC president Sushil Koirala, Spokesperson Arjun Narsingh KC and NC prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Poudel and MPRF Chairman Upendra Yadav were present at the meeting. [break]
“We will have difficulty supporting you unless CPN-UML also supports you,” NC leader KC quoted Yadav as saying at the meeting in Singha Durbar.
The UML is likely to stay neutral also in the third round of voting slated for August 2. The NC leaders told the MPRF that they are likely get support of the UML as the party cannot support the Maoists until the latter transforms into a civilian party. “So the UML is closer to us than to the Maoists,” KC quoted Poudel as telling the MPRF leaders.
“We found the MPRF positive about our demand,” he said.
During the meeting, MPRF asked the NC to present its official views on the former´s demand in writing. “We are still waiting for the NC to respond to our demands in writing,” Yadav told reporters.
While the UML withdrew its candidacy, NC leader Poudel and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal -- the only two contestants in the election - have twice failed to garner a simple majority in the current 599-member House.
The four Madhes-based parties, which command a combined 82 seats in parliament, have formed an alliance called United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF). If the UDMF lends support to the Maoists, the latter can form a majority government. But NC still falls short of a majority even if UMDF supports it. So, UML´s support is the key for a NC-led government.
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