The Nepali Congress has prepared to start the election process within a few days to select the parliamentary party leader.

General Minister Gururaj Ghimire informed that the Central Executive Committee meeting will be held and after the Election Committee is formed, the selection process of the parliamentary party leader will proceed.

“Probably, the Central Executive Committee will meet on Saturday, it will form the election committee and the process of selecting the parliamentary party leader will proceed,” General Minister Ghimire told Setopati.

Congress is the main opposition party with 38 seats in the House of Representatives. On the recommendation of the government, President Ramchandra Paudel has called a session of both houses of the federal parliament to be held tomorrow, Thursday.

By the time the first meeting of the House of Representatives was held, the Congress had not elected a parliamentary party leader.

Congress MP Arjunnar Singh KC is the senior member in the House of Representatives. Until the Speaker is elected, the senior member will conduct the meeting of the House of Representatives. The speaker will be elected within 15 days of the first meeting.

Arjun Narasimha KC, a senior member, is also rumored to be the leader of the Congress parliamentary party within the party. He became an MP from the proportional party.

A Constitutional Council meeting has to be held to recommend the Chief Justice to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Prakashman Singh Raut has retired from today and Senior Justice Sapna Malla Kamu is taking over as Chief Justice.

The main opposition party leader also remains a member of the Constitutional Council. The Council chaired by the Prime Minister consists of the Chief Justice, the Speaker, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Deputy Speaker. There are 4 vacancies in the 6-member Constitutional Council. Therefore, the Constitutional Council meeting could not be held.

‘We are in a hurry to select the parliamentary party leader,’ said General Minister Ghimire, ‘the parliamentary party leader will be selected within a few days.’

In the Congress since 2064 elections, it is a practice to select the parliamentary party leader through competition. After the election of 2079, in the parliamentary party leader election held on 6th of January, the then Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba and the then General Minister Gagan Thapa were competing and Deuba was elected as the leader of the party with a large number of votes.

Congress leaders say that there are many aspirants for the parliamentary party leader this year as well. There are differences between the working committee that came from the special convention and the party of the then chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba, who did not participate in the special convention, and communication between the top leaders is not possible. In this situation, it is seen that there will be a competition for the leader of the parliamentary party.

‘If there are many aspirants, there will be dialogue with them, if there is no consensus, there will be competition,’ said General Minister Ghimire. The party has not yet discussed with the aspirants.

From senior member Arjun Narasimha KC to young MP Nishkal Rai, there is talk of becoming a parliamentary party leader in Congress.

KC has said that he is qualified for the post even though he does not aspire to become the leader of the parliamentary party.

When he went to participate in the central committee meeting held at Sanepa on March 6, a journalist asked KC if he would now become the leader of the parliamentary party.

In response, KC said that he was not aware of this matter and that it would be discussed in the party.

On another question whether the parliamentary party leader has a claim or not, KC said, ‘The claim remains, I am the most senior, I have contributed to the parliamentary journey and practice’.

KC, who taught political science at Tribhuvan University in the past, was also an advocate. He was a Member of Parliament at various times since 2048 and was also the Minister of Health, Physical, Education and Urban Development.

Bhishmaraj Angdembe, a former joint minister who became a member of the House of Representatives from the proportional side, is also rumored to be a parliamentary party leader candidate.

Leaders claim that Sher Bahadur Deuba-Poorna Bahadur Khadka and Shekhar Koirala factions are ready to make him a parliamentary party leader candidate.

But within the Congress, voices have also started to be raised that the youth who have won the direct election should be made the leader of the parliamentary party. This is said by those who worked in fraternal organizations that are closer to the party than the parliamentarians.

“Congress needs to advance leadership with energy, efficiency and foresight as per the demand of the time,” said Dujang Sherpa, president of the New Union.

Even within the Deuba party, there has been no discussion about who to make as the parliamentary party leader candidate. Leader Purna Bahadur Khadka, as the Acting Chairman, held a meeting of the central members elected from the 14th Congress held in 2078 at Dhumbarahi in Kathmandu. The gathering that started on Tuesday will continue till today.

Speaking at this meeting, Khadka said that the special congressmen had done injustice when they sent the names of proportional candidates to the Election Commission.

“The name of Vidya Timilsina was number one in the backward cluster, but when the name was sent to the commission, the name of Kali Bahadur Sahakari, whose name was in the Khasarya cluster, was sent. Although Man Bahadur Nepali’s name was in the Dalit cluster, his name was not included when the recommendation was sent to the commission, friends have gone to the court because of injustice,’ said a leader who participated in the meeting, quoting Khadka’s statement.

When the proportional list was submitted to the Election Commission, Sher Bahadur Deuba was the chairman and Gagan Thapa was the chairman when the names were recommended from the list. According to them, the working committee that came from the special convention did not give place to 2 more people from Deuba’s side proportionally.

Within the Congress, other parliamentarians besides Arjun Narasimha KC and Bhishmaraj Angdembe are also discussed as parliamentary party leaders.

Mohan Acharya, who won the election from Rasuwa, Nishkal Rai, who won the election from Ilam, Janakraj Giri, who won the election from Bajura, Bharat Bahadur Khadka, who won from Doti, Narendra Kumar Kerung, who won from Panchthar, are also in the news, but the party has not yet discussed with the MPs about the election of the parliamentary party leader.

The 34-year-old Nishkal is publicly saying that he will take the role of parliamentary party leader if the party gives him the role.

For the House of Representatives election on February 21, the then chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba signed the ticket on the proportional side and Gagan Thapa, the chairman who came from the special convention on the direct side, signed the ticket.

That’s why most of the 20 MPs from proportional representation are from the Deuba side, while most of the 18 who won directly are from the Thapa side.

The Deuba party held a program to congratulate and wish the newly elected MPs on 16th March. Not all Congress MPs participated in that sequence.

According to the information given by a leader who participated in the program held by Deuba Group, the members of the House of Representatives, Tek Bahadur Gurung, Vishnu Khadka, Rukmini Koirala, Rina Upreti, Sita Thapalia, Gangalakshmi Awal, Ninu Karna, Harinadevi Kami, Sushila Dhakal, Geethakumari Sendang and other MPs were present.

National Assembly MPs Ranjit Karna, Khammahadur Khati, Chandra KC, Geeta Devkota and Jagat Timilsina participated in the event. On that day, Prime Minister Balen Shah also held a meeting with the parliamentarians of the ruling and opposition parties.

It is not yet clear who the proportionate MPs of the Congress will be on which side.

According to a leader of the establishment, there are 20 MPs directly and proportionally from Sher Bahadur Deuba and Shekhar Koirala groups. According to them, 18 people remain in favor of establishment.

But the establishment side is not ready to accept this data.

“Out of 18 people who won the election directly, only 3 are from outside the establishment. On the proportional side, those who were named from other groups have come in contact with Chairman Thapa. He has said that wherever the party remains, we will remain there,” said an official.

The establishment party has claimed that at least 19 MPs will stand on their side now and this number will increase. On March 14, Congress gave orientation to the elected parliamentarians on matters including parliamentary practice and role. But the Congress has not even held a parliamentary party meeting.

Although the names of many MPs are in discussion for the parliamentary party leader, the party has not yet communicated with them. The leaders say that after forming the election committee for the purpose of selecting the parliamentary party leader, it will be discussed with the aspiring MPs.