NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Pushpa Adhikari in Kathmandu
A race has begun for the Nepal prime minister's job with Girija Prasad Koirala resigning under pressure from political circles.
Koirala resigned on Thursday amid pressure from both within his Nepali Congress and the opposition. Since then, four NC lawmakers have come forward seeking the prime minister's post.
Of the four candidates who want to take over from Koirala, three have his blessings and one candidate is challenging him.
The NC has a 113-seat majority in the 205-member Parliament. The opposition, therefore, has little say on the change in government leadership.
Sher Bahadur Deuba, who leads the anti-Koirala faction in the NC, is the only candidate from his group.
The other three aspirants are from Koirala's group -- Koirala's distant relative and party general secretary Sushil Koirala, Minister for Local Development Govinda Raj Joshi and Home and Foreign Affairs Minister Chakra Bastola, Koirala's most trusted man at the moment.
Koirala has called an emergency meeting at his official residence on Friday, where the party will come up with a consensus on the next prime ministerial candidate.
Koirala's first preference is Sushil Koirala and Chakra Bastola is an alternative, a member of the central working committee of the NC said
Other NC sources said Koirala was not ready to hand over the leadership to Sher Bahadur Deuba. Koirala apparently thinks that Deuba is "not mature enough" to take Nepal ahead.
"But if the prime minister wants to hand over the leadership to his family member Sushil Koirala or to Chakra Bastola, a majority of the party will go against him. That will prove to be counterproductive," a NC source said.
"It is still too early to say that Koirala will be able to elect his chosen successor, even though he still has a strong hold in the party," he added.
Indo-Asian News Service
ALSO SEE Koirala resigns, accuses opposition of non-cooperation Death of a Monarch: The Complete Coverage
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
