The meeting decided to forward the matter to the central committee (CC), which could finalize party´s candidate for the prime ministerial post. The CC meeting is scheduled for Monday. [break]
"At today´s meeting, we decided to forward the issue to the central committee," General Secretary, Ishwar Pokharel, told reporters after the meeting.
The party´s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam said they discussed making Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal as party´s candidate for the post. "Everyone knows that party chairman Khanal is the candidate from the UML. However, a formal decision wasn´t taken today. We decided to discuss this at CC meeting," he said.
The parliament will vote for prime minister on July 21. The deadline to file candidacy expires on July 20.
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Khanal and leaders close to him have intensified lobbying in and outside the party in his favor while the party´s heavyweights Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and KP Sharma Oli are reportedly not in favor of Khanal´s candidacy.
Oli held separate talks with Khanal and Nepal in the afternoon. He also held one-on-one dialogue with Pokharel after the end of the standing committee meeting.
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