Kathmandu, Jan 4: The top leaders of Nepal’s three main parties, Nepali Congress (NC), CPN UML, and the Communist Party of Nepal Maoist Centre, have stepped up talks on an electoral arrangement for the upcoming National Assembly polls. UML chair KP Sharma Oli and Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda met this morning to discuss coordination, though neither side has confirmed an agreement.
A meeting had been planned earlier as well, but it did not take place after Prachanda arrived late in Kathmandu due to a flight delay, according to UML central office secretary Dr Bhishma Adhikari. The two leaders met ahead of Prachanda’s departure to New Delhi on Sunday.
Maoist Centre leader Barshaman Pun said discussions among major parties are ongoing in the context of the National Assembly election. Asked if all three parties were preparing to contest together, he said a proposal had come from the Congress side. He added that talks had taken place but no decision had been reached.
The terms of 19 National Assembly members expire on Falgun 20. Among them, one member, Bamdev Gautam, was nominated by the President and can be re-nominated on the government’s recommendation. Elections for the remaining 18 seats will be held on Magh 11.
Seats are allocated as follows: Koshi three, Madhesh four, Bagmati two, Gandaki two, Lumbini three, Karnali two, and Sudurpaschim two.
Leaders say coordination efforts stem from the lack of a clear path to contest alone. Congress and UML fear internal sabotage if they align bilaterally, and any two-party deal risks hurting the third. This has pushed all three toward a broader understanding.
From the Congress, acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka, Ramesh Lekhak, and Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat are engaged in talks. UML’s Shankar Pokhrel and Maoist Centre’s Barshaman Pun are also involved in bilateral and multilateral discussions. With nominations due on Poush 23, dialogue has intensified, though leaders remain tight-lipped.
Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak said talks are ongoing but nothing is final.
If the three parties join hands, they would dominate the vote weight in all seven provinces, leaving little room for rivals. In Koshi, their combined vote weight crosses 90 percent of the total. Similar margins apply in Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim, where the combined strength would all but seal the contest.
Under the electoral college, voters include provincial assembly members and local chiefs and deputies, whose weighted votes heavily favor a three-party pact.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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