KATHMANDU: A meeting between Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Chairmen KP Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal held on Sunday morning ended with a decision to call a Secretariat meeting.

Chairman Dahal reached the prime minister’s official residence in Baluwatar to discuss the party’s candidate for a new Speaker.

The meeting that lasted for two hours decided to summon the Secretariat meeting for 4 pm, according to NCP General Secretary Bishnu Poudel.

“A decision has been reached to select a candidate for Speaker on a consensus,” Poudel said, “The Secretariat meeting will finalize the issue.”

The ruling party is under pressure to pick a candidate for the post as a meeting of House of Representatives has been slated for Monday. The meeting of House of Representatives has been postponed time and again as the leaders have been at loggerhead about Speaker.

Chairman Oli is for picking former Speaker Subas Nembang as the candidate for the Speaker. Dahal has been insisting that leader Agni Sapkota is eligible for the post.

Likewise, President Bidya Devi Bhandari has been pressing NCP leadership to pick Deputy Speaker Dr. Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe as a new Speaker.

According to the source, PM Oli has shown flexibility on the contentious issue telling Dahal that he is ready to discuss names apart from those currently under discussions.