Differences over who should get to head a new government from the party surfaced during a Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Thursday after leaders supporting PP leader Ram Chandra Poudel and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba made claims and counter claims for the prime ministerial candidacy for their respective man. [break]
While those supporting Poudel argued that the PP leader is the sole candidate to head the government as per the parliamentary party statute, those close to Deuba dismissed the idea, arguing that it is the eight-member Parliamentary Party Board which decides the name of the new prime minister from the party, if any.
Leaders supporting Deuba also argued that a candidate garnering support from other parties should get to head the new government since it is going to be a coalition government.
Speaking during Thursday´s CWC meeting, Party Vice-president Prakash Man Singh argued that there was no point in discussing about a prime ministerial candidate from the party as the NC parliamentary party statute clearly states in Article 6 that the PP leader will automatically get to head the government from the party.
However, CWC member Binaya Dhwaj Chand made the point that the party statue states whoever is picked by the eight-member PP Board gets to head the government from the party.
He argued that while the CWC is entrusted with taking policy level decisions whether to form a new government under the party´s leadership or to become part of a coalition government, the PP Board is entrusted with picking the candidates for prime minister and ministers as per Article 32 (3) of the party statute.
The PP Board comprises Acting President Sushil Koirala, senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Poudel, Vice-presidents Prakash Man Singh and Gopal Man Shrestha, General Secretaries K B Gurung and Bimalendra Nidhi and Binaya Dhwaj Chand.
Interestingly, neither of the NC candidates in the race for prime minister - Poudel and Deuba-- commands an apparent majority in the body, but there is a chance Deuba can secure a majority.
Leaders close to Sher Bahadur Deuba have maintained that the PP Board had already set a precedent by deciding to name Deuba for contesting the post of prime minister at the time when Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal filed his candidacy after the Constituent Assembly (CA) election.
Likewise, the PP Board had also decided to name Dr Ram Baran Yadav as presidential candidate and recently recommend the name of Manamohan Bhattarai for the CA seat that fell vacant after the demise of NC President Girija Prasad Koirala.
Talking to myrepublica.com, NC Vice-president Gopal Man Shrestha argued that the provisions in the party statute endorsed by the party Mahasamiti meeting held November 1-4, 2009 in Kathmandu prevail over the parliamentary party statute formulated a year before the Mahasamiti meeting.
Some seven members spoke during the CWC meeting called Thursday to discuss government leadership and other concurrent political issues.
Party leaders including Chakra Prasad Bastola, Mahesh Acharya and Krishna Prasad Sitaula had argued that the NC should focus more on how to play a leadership role and take the ongoing peace process to a logical end and promulgate a new constitution within the extended term of the CA rather than just limiting itself to the issue of government leadership.
They argued that formation of a new government without the Maoists would make it simply impossible to accomplish the tasks of promulgating the new constitution and concluding the peace process.
According to CWC member Krishna Sitaula, the meeting discussed whether the NC should take leadership of the new government should Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal chose to step down. "The meeting has decided to expedite talks with other parties to take the initiative for consensus and cooperation," he said.
Meanwhile, the CWC meeting decided to defer the village and municipal, regional and district level conventions to July 25, July 31 and August 2 respectively. Earlier, the CWC had announced that the village, municipal, regional and district level conventions of the party would be completed between June 20 to 29.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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