This will be the second time the two leaders are contesting against each other for the PP leadership. Earlier in 2008, Paudel had defeated Deuba in the parliamentary party election. Nomination for the parliamentary party leader is scheduled for Tuesday and election is on Wednesday.NC has summoned parliamentary party and central committee meeting on Monday to amend its parliamentary party statute prior to the election.
A meeting of lawmakers and leaders loyal to Paudel on Sunday unanimously finalized his name as the candidate for the parliamentary party leader. Though leader Prakash Man Singh and Ram Sharan Mahat were claiming their candidacy for the post, Singh himself proposed Paudel as candidate in the meeting.
"Only Paudel can unite the party and accommodate all leaders in the party, thus he should be elected as the parliamentary party leader," said Singh in the meeting.
Insisting on adapting one leader one position policy in the party, Paudel had urged Deuba to relinquish the parliamentary party leader position. After Deuba declined the offer, Paudel panel decided to contest for the post.
Deuba camp has already proposed the party president for the post of parliamentary party leader and has intensified negotiations with lawmakers for his support.
A third panel in NC led by Krishna Sitaula, who had fought for the post of party president in the general convention last month, has decided not to contest in the parliamentary party leader election. Deuba panel is confident of its victory over Paudel again in the parliamentary party election after Sitaula panel decided to support Deuba in the election. Paudel was defeated by Deuba in the party president fray during the general convention last month.
Based on the result of previous parliamentary party election and the loyalty of the lawmakers loyalty to any camp, party insiders have calculated that Deuba would likely garner around 105 votes out of the total of 207 and Paudel around 100 votes in the election.
Late NC president Sushil Koirala won the parliamentary party leader election defeating Deuba by only 16 votes in the last election in 2014. NC senior leader Paudel is contesting for the post from the Koirala camp this time.
However, the camp has lost as at least a dozen of lawmakers, who have joined the Deuba camp in this period. And, at least six lawmakers have split from the Paudel faction and joined Sitaula camp.
Among 26 seats of lawmakers that were directly nominated through a cabinet decision by the erstwhile government, eight lawmakers were added by then prime minister Koirala and are loyal to the Paudel faction.
Under this calculation, the Paudel panel has lost 18 lawmakers and gained eight from the 116 votes secured in the last election. And Deuba camp has added 18 more lawmakers to the 89 votes that he had got in parliamentary party election in 2014.
Though the voting will be secret, most of the lawmakers have been openly divided into two different panels.
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