“The chances of the (Madhesi) Front voting for Nepali Congress candidate Poudel is increasing as there has been consensus on many agenda items raised in the second letter written by the Nepali Congress to the Madhesi Front,” he said. [break]
Karna, who is also vice-chairman of the Sadbhawana Party, argued that the chances of Madhesi parties voting in favor of Maoist prime ministerial candidate Pushpa Kamal Dahal have declined as the Maoists began engaging in ´horse-trading´. “The Maoists are blackmailing us, saying that they would allow passage of various bills if the issue of the controversial audiotape is raised in the House,” he added.
The audiotape records a conversation allegedly between Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and an unknown ´Chinese official´ during which Mahara demands Rs 500 million for buying 50 lawmakers to form a government under Maoist leadership.
The United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) comprises the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum, Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Democratic, Sadbhawana Party and the Tarai Madhesi Democratic Party. While these parties have remaining neutral in all the rounds of voting for prime minister, the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum boycotted the seventh round of voting.
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