KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba, under mounting pressure amidst the unfolding political drama in the Koshi Province, remained busy in ceaseless negotiations throughout Friday.
As per Deuba’s assessment, the political landscape took a sharp turn when Kedar Karki, a leader from Shekhar Koirala’s faction within the Nepali Congress, allied with the CPN-UML, while Indra Angbo of the Maoist Center secured the nomination for the coveted Chief Ministerial role, representing the ruling alliance.
NC President Deuba fears that this could lead to a fracture within the coalition.
Throughout the day on Friday, NC President Deuba made fervent attempts to resolve the crisis in Koshi Province.
Initially, he sought to retract Karki’s candidature. Failing that, Deuba aimed to salvage the unity of the Nepali Congress in Koshi Province, even if it meant endorsing any other Member of Parliament besides Karki.
However, his efforts proved futile as Koirala remained resolute in supporting Karki and even expressed readiness to confront the challenges at the central level.
Koirala’s absence at the central performance committee meeting, convened to address the Koshi issue, led to its inconclusive adjournment.
Simultaneously, Koshi Province Chief Parshuram Khapung extended the deadline for Karki and Angbo’s supporting parliamentarians to present themselves until today (Saturday) afternoon, having initially set the deadline for Friday at 5 pm.
Deuba’s prospects of preventing Karki from assuming the Chief Minister’s position seemed bleak without an overnight turnaround, given Karki’s clear majority.
The 47 MPs in favor of Karki had already rallied at the provincial headquarters by Friday.
Following the alliance’s decision on Thursday afternoon, Angbo swiftly submitted the claim for Chief Minister to the state chief, backed by 47 MPs.
An hour later, 39 UML MPs threw their weight behind Karki, with an additional 8 MPs from Shekhar’s faction endorsing him. With the support of 47 MPs, Karki made a beeline for Khapungko, demanding the Chief Ministerial position.
The sudden turn of events in Koshi sent ripples of unease among the alliance leaders.
NC President Deuba had been in constant consultation with close aides and leaders, including General Minister Bishwa Prakash Sharma, in a bid to resolve the Koshi crisis.
He also sought a meeting with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda at Baluwatar to deliberate on the matter.
Apart from Karki, Deuba proposed considering a candidate from Shekhar’s faction for the Chief Minister’s role, as suggested by PM Dahal during their meeting.
However, Koirala adamantly rejected both Prachanda’s and Deuba’s proposals, insisting on retaining Karki.
NC President Deuba, meanwhile, remained resolute in preventing any rift within the party and expressed his commitment to salvaging the alliance.
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