UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal conceded at the party´s central committee meeting on Sunday that the chances of holding election in mid-June are almost nil.[break]
"Using careful wordings, the chairman indicated that the chances of holding election by coming June is slim but conclusion of his statement was that the leaders have already made up their minds to hold election in November-December," UCPN (Maoist) leader Suk Bahadur Roka told Republica.
Also, the one-month party program endorsed at the same meeting proved that the Maoist leaders are expecting the new election not before the coming autumn. Maoist leaders however claimed that the new programs are not election-oriented. "If the leaders were planning to conduct polls in coming June then they would have assigned second-rung leaders election-related responsibilities. But the new programs are of regular type," said a leader.
But some Maoist leaders aren´t convinced that election would be held even in the winter. They are for devising new plans after studying how the political developments unfold in the months to come.
"It is not certain whether or not polls will be held even in the winter. The party will come up with election-oriented programs in September if the environment becomes conducive for holding election in November-December. But if there is no possibility of holding election in winter then the party will come up with struggle programs," central committee member Ishwari Bhattarai told Republica.
Meanwhile, CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal said on Sunday that his party is not rigid on the date for holding new election but his party´s priority is to see the election held by mid-June and if that is not possible then it could be held in the winter.
He said polls shouldn´t be conducted in haste because the coming elections must be free, fair and reliable.
"It should be held by mid-December if it isn´t possible in June. But it can´t be deferred beyond the winter. The coming New Year 2070 BS should be the year of new constitution," Khanal said while addressing a function organized by Press Chautari in Kathmandu on Sunday.
Nepali Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi is more explicit in ruling out the possibility of election in June. "Frankly, I don´t think election is possible in June. This was one of the reasons why the taskforce recommended November-December as the alternative date," Nidhi told Republica.
Leaders in the past would mince their words while responding to queries on the poll date. But the 11-point deal reached earlier this month clearly indicated that election in June is unlikely. The political agreement has stated that the election government will announce a new date whereby the election will be held by December 15 of this year if election is not possible in June.
Until recently, the major parties were attempting to show to the public that each of them were more eager than the rivals to see elections held at the earliest. UCPN (Maoist) had earlier this month announced the formation of two separate committees and entrusted them with the responsibilities of drafting election manifesto and suggesting election candidates.
But on the contrary, Sunday´s central committee meeting didn´t announce any election-oriented programs, indicating that the previous announcement to form two separate committees was only for public consumption.
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