Kathmandu, August 3
Bimalendra Nidhi will lead the Nepali Congress team in the Prachanda-led ruling coalition. Nidhi will be Deputy Prime Minister with the portfolio of Home Ministry.
After discussions with influential leaders close to him, Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba decided to send Nidhi to the Prachanda government as leader of the NC team.
Bal Krishna Khand, an influential Congress leader close to Deuba, told Onlinekhabar: Nidhi played a crucial role in the removal of the Oli government and shaping of the (NC-Maoist) alliance. So, we suggested Deuba it will be appropriate to send a team under Nidhi to the Prachanda government.
In fact, Nidhi had made lasting efforts for the creation of this alliance comprising the Maoists (CPN-Maoist Centre), Madheshi Morcha (United Democratic Madheshi Front) and Nepali Congress. This alliance became possible because of Nidhi, so it would have been unethnical to send any other leader to the government in place of him.
Fellow Congress leaders Gopal Man Shrestha, Krishna Sitaula and Arjun Narsingh KC had also staked claim on the leadership of the NC team in the government.
Sitaula has already said he is not interested in joining the government. A source said: The party leadership is preparing to make Shrestha deputy leader of the NC Parliamentary Party. Deuba is ready to offer KC any other ministry except for the Home Ministry.
But a source close to KC said the latter will not accept any other portfolio if he does not get to lead the Congress team in the government. Congress leaders, though, say there still is possibility of KC joining the government as a minister.
Meanwhile, the Ram Chandra Poudel camp in the NC is likely to get four ministerial portfolios in the government. Poudel has been demanding that his camp should get 40 per cent of the pie that the NC will get.
