"It is natural for the politicians to aspire for the post of prime minister. But it is important that the person is acceptable to others," said Gautam while speaking at a function in Surkhet.[break]
"Now it should be ensured that the government leadership should not go in the hand of those who lost the elections. Among those who won the election from out party, there is no option to the chairman to lead the new government," he said.
The UML vice-chairman stated that his party would not support the sole prime ministerial candidate, Nepali Congress (NC) leader Ram Chandra Paudel to head the new government.
He argued that the UML cannot support Paudel as prime minister as the latter refuted his party´s request to withdraw his candidacy. He said his party would rather support Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal for prime minister. He, however, said, "It is up to the Maoists themselves to decide who should be the prime ministerial candidate from their party."
Gautam said that there is no option to taking the Maoists along if the peace process is to reach its conclusion. "It may not sound appropriate for some. But this is the objective reality," he said. Gautam said his rivals accuse him of being a pro-Maoist for telling the truth.
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