Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba has summoned President of Chitwan Congress Rajeshwore Khanal and stated that the party should give up candidacy for Bharatpur mayor to CPN (Maoist Center) to continue the ruling coalition.
He also urged Khanal to support the decision to be taken by the coalition, according to Khanal. Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka and President of Bagmati Congress Indra Bahadur Baniya were also present during the meeting at Baluwatar.
Renu Dahal of Maoist Center was elected Bharatpur mayor with support of NC in the last local election and NC leaders and cadres from Chitwan have been demanding that the party should not again give away candidacy for Bharatpur mayor this time.
Deuba told Khanal and Baniya that Maoist Center has demanded for either Kathmandu or Biratnagar if NC wants to keep Bharatpur. "Maoists are saying that Bharatpur will be easier than others," Khanal quoted Deuba as saying.
NC looks set to get three metropolitan cities, and CPN (Maoist Center), Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) and CPN (Unified Socialist) one each as per the deald reached among top coalition leaders.
NC looks likely to get Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Biratnagar; Maoist Center Bharatpur; JSP Birgunj and Unified Socialist Pokhara. But local NC leaders of Kaski are refusing to give up candidacy for Pokhara mayor.
Deuba also summoned Gandaki President Shukra Raj Sharma, Kaski President Kishore Datta Baral, and leaders including Yagya Bahadur Thapa and others for discussion about Pokhara on Tuesday.
Addressing a program organized by the student wing of NC earlier on Tuesday Deuba stated that NC should opt for alliance by giving appropriate respect to the coalition partners pointing how UML had swept away the last general election after alliance with Maoist Center.
