Singh-Nidhi's support cements Deuba's claim
KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 14
Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh who had run for the election for party-president at the ongoing general convention, has decided to extend his support to party president Sher Bahadur Deuba for the next round of polls.
As the initial election to chose the party chief failed to yield any result, as the leading candidate could not secure over 50% votes, it was decided that the top two contenders would run in the second round.
Deuba had garnered 2258 votes against his closest competitor Shekhar Koirala's 1702 votes.
Singh, who came in third with 371 votes, was courted by both Deuba and Koirala seeking his support with his newfound 'kingmaker' status in the party. Eventually, Singh decided to throw his weight behind Deuba, the former's secretariat stated.
With this move, Deuba's prospects at winning the elections have highly strengthened as he needed the support of either Singh or Bimalendra Nidhi while Koirala would need the support of both the candidates.
Likewise, following Singh's announcement, Bimalendra Nidhi too has extended his support to Deuba to ensure his continuity. He had scored 250 votes.
The fifth contender Kalyan Gurung had received 22 votes.
