UML-NC still nine votes short

NC-UML hopeful of MPRF vote in Nepal´s favor if they show 301 members in their fold

Hard struggle throughout Sunday to woo CPN-United, NWPP and royalist RPP-N in Madhav Nepal´s favor

Prime minister launches strategy to stop NC-UML alliance from getting 301 signatures

KATHMANDU, May 16: The UML-NC coalition hopes that if it manages to reach the magic number 301 the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) will come into its fold. But it´s a big if.

Here goes the logic: With the UML-NC scoring the magic number MPRF´s hopes of leading the next government will come to an end, forcing it to support the alliance. [break]

A senior NC leader claimed that the Bijaya Gachchhadar faction of the MPRF has assured the NC-UML alliance MPRF would throw its weight behind the alliance if it manages to get 301.

Gachchhadar has already taken the stance at the MPRF parliamentary party meeting that if the party fails to lead the next government it should not shy away from joining the UML-NC alliance.

But the alliance is struggling to garner the support of 301 lawmakers. The NC-UML alliance has got just 292 signatures and is waiting for a formal decision by Nepal Workers Peasants Party, CPN-United and Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal. These three parties have 14 lawmakers between them.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and prime minister-hopeful Madhav Nepal focused on wooing these parties throughout Saturday. Dahal met the chairman of RPP-Nepal Kamal Thapa, still a staunch royalist, and requested him not to sign for Madhav Nepal.

Dahal called Thapa to his residence and said he did not like the politics of head counts. “I also believe that the ongoing peace process cannot reach a conclusion if the Maoists are kept out of the government,” said Thapa coming out of the meeting.

Dahal likewise met CPN-United leaders and asked for their support. “We told him [prime minister] that we don´t have a policy of signing in favor of anyone becoming prime minister,” said CPN-United leader Ganesh Shah. “We urged the prime minister to let the House run smoothly and settle the issue of the President´s move and government formation in the House.”

In a bid to garner support for Nepal, Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala met NWPP Chairman Narayan Man Bijukchhe at the former´s residence at Maharajgunj. Koirala requested Bijukchhe to support Nepal through his signature. Always reluctant to participate in the power-game, Bijukchhe gave a positive response to Koirala but asked him to wait till a formal decision of the party.

Nepal also met separately with CPN-United leaders and RPP-Nepal Chairman Thapa. The CPN-United leaders, at the meeting, said they would not sign in anyone´s favor but would participate in voting if the process of forming a new government would be affected by their absence.

“Our central committee is meeting coming Thursday but it will not decide to sign in favor of a particular candidate,” said CPN-United leader Shah. Other leaders of the party, however, pledged to support Nepal.

NC President Koirala is set to meet the CPN-United Sunday morning in the presence of prime minister-aspirant Nepal.

Forum calls for support

Madhesi People´s Rights Forum on Saturday appealed to all political parties in the Constituent Assembly for their support in forming a new government under its leadership.

Sending letters to the parties, MPRF Chairman Upendra Yadav informed them about his party´s decision to form a new government under its leadership.

“As an alternative to the Maoist-led government which resigned recently, we want to form a new government under our leadership,” the letter reads.

A meeting of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party and Sadbhavana Party rejected the Forum´s appeal. “The letter was like information about their [MPRF] decision so we did not see any need to respond to it,” said Nepali Congress Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel.

TMDP, SP won´t support Upendra even if Maoists do

A senior leader of the Tarai Madhes Democratic Party on Saturday said the United Democratic Madhesi Front would not support MPRF leader Upendra Yadav if he stands as the prime ministerial candidate with Maoist backing.

Jitendra Sonar, a TMDP leader and member of the joint task force of the three-party alliance, said Saturday that Yadav´s candidacy was never discussed at the Front´s meeting and would be regarded as “unnatural” if it comes at this point.

“We have already submitted the signatures of all our 21 lawmakers and the Sadbhavana Party has done likewise,” said Sonar. “There is no chance of our reviewing our support for Madhav Nepal.”

He also revealed that MPRF leaders were absent from the Front´s meeting Saturday. Sonar said TMDP was more concerned about how to save democracy in the country than wrangling over the issues of Madhes. “If democracy survives, we can fight for more rights,” he added.