Kathmandu, March 2
Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Poudel is announcing his candidacy for the post of party President on Wednesday. Coinciding with the occasion, he is also making public his team members vying for important positions in the party.
Team Paudel is organising a press conference at the party office in Sanepa at 4 pm. “We will announce our team if there is no understanding with other contestants,” Madhu Acharya, president of the Congress’ Kavre district chapter, said. Acharya is considered close to Poudel.
From Poudel’s team, Shashank Koirala is contesting for the post of party General Secretary. Team Poudel is yet to decide on the candidate for the post of treasurer, though preparations are afoot to field a candidate from the Madheshi community for the position.
According to a source, the team is likely to field Kiran Yadav, niece of former President Ram Baran Yadav, for the post. Padma Narayan Chaudhary and Farmullah Mansoor are other likely candidates for the post. Odds are against another aspirant, Chandra Mohan Yadav, who was in the race for the position of the party’s general convention member. In his constituency in Dhanusha-5, the party’s regional convention has been put on hold indefinitely.
Team Poudel is likely to nominate Prakash Man Singh as the candidate for the position of party’s Vice-president. There’s an understanding to nominate former finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat as general secretary. Mahat has not stopped short of saying that he will vie for the post of party Chief.
Team Sitaula’s gathering
Meanwhile, another contestant for the party leadership, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, is organising a press conference at a hotel in Battisputali at 3 pm. Notably, Sitaula is organising the programme ahead of Poudel’s programme. Sitaula said the programme is meant to welcome general convention representatives.
At the same programme, Sitaula is likely to announce his candidature. He is to present Gagan Thapa as the candidate for the post of general secretary. Sitaula is yet to select candidates for other party positions as he is still busy discussing the matter.
Another party leader vying for the top position, Sujata Koirala, is announcing her candidature and making public her team at 1 pm. She will make this announcement by organising a press conference at her residence in Mandikhatar.
Senior Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is unlikely to announce his candidature on Wednesday. Team Deuba is adopting a strategy to announce candidatures on Friday. By then, all other factions would have announced their teams contesting the elections. Team Deuba is in bid to bring in dissatisfied leaders of the establishment faction.
Some other leaders are also likely to announce candidatures for the positions of office-bearers and central working committee members. For CWC positions, many Congress activists have already announced their candidacies.
