Voting for the new leadership of Nepali Congress Province 2 will be held from 8 am
today. The Election Committee has postponed the voting process on Wednesday
evening saying that the printing of ballot papers has been delayed despite the schedule
of voting on Wednesday.
The polling will be held at Gopal Dharamsala in Janakpurdham, said Prahlad Gautam,
coordinator of the election committee. After the failed attempt to reach a consensus on
the leadership, the two groups formed separate panels and entered the election field.
President Sher Bahadur Deuba’s party has registered its candidature with a panel led
by NC Rautahat president Krishna Yadav while leader Bimalendra Nidhi and Shekhar
Koirala’s party have registered their candidature with a panel led by Congress State No.
2 parliamentary party leader Ram Saroj Yadav.
Chandra Shekhar Yadav and Birendra Singh have been nominated for the post of
deputy chairman from the Krishna panel. Similarly, Upendra Yadav and Brihaspati
Krishna Shrestha have registered their candidacies for the post. The Deuba faction has
fielded Jaya Narayana Yadav, Parashuram Chaudhary and Rita Yadav as joint general
ministers.
Dhan Lal Thokar and Binod Khanal have registered their candidacies from the panel of
Ram Saroj of Nidhi-Koirala group. Naresh Yadav and Hares Yadav have registered their
candidacies for the post of General Secretary while Arvind Amatya and Binod Yadav
have filed their candidacies for the post of Joint General Minister. Similarly, Nirmala
Subedi has given her candidature for the post of Joint General Minister.
A total of 174 candidates have filed nominations for 72 posts. Out of them, five
members have been elected unopposed and six candidates have withdrawn their
candidacies. It is stated that there are 25 out of 2,000 voters from 64 provincial
constituencies in eight districts of the province.
Both the parties have taken the upcoming provincial convention with importance.
Deuba’s party leader and Home Minister Bal Krishna Khan is in Janakpur with his party.
Newly elected joint general ministers Mahendra Yadav, Farmullah Mansoor, central
members Chitralekha Yadav, Surendra Raj Pandey, Ram Hari Khatiwada, Uday
Shamsher Rana and Ananda Dhungana Ramesh Rijal are trying hard to get results in
their favor. Meanwhile, influential leaders of Nidhi-Koirala faction are in Janakpur.
Nidhi himself has been deployed in the field. Vice President Dhanraj Gurung and
General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa and Deputy Presidential candidate Chandra
Bhandari are also in Janakpur to support Nidhi. From Koirala’s side, state president
candidate Guru Raj Ghimire, Karnali state president candidate Bhupendra Jung Shahi,
joint general ministerial candidates Ram Krishna Yadav and Teju Lal Chaudhary are
busy formulating election strategy.
By Muna Chand
