• NC, Madhes-based parties struggling with seat allocation

Kathmandu, October 26

The task force formed by the left alliance, including the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre, has finalised candidate selection and seat sharing in all 45 districts for the second phase of parliamentary and provincial elections, barring a few constituencies where the two parties have rival claims.

The task force has empowered the party unification coordination committee, which has four top leaders from the UML and three top leaders from the CPN-MC, to finalise candidate selection in the remaining constituencies. The constituencies include Dang-2 (parliamentary), where UML leader Shankar Pokhrel and CPN-MC leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara are strong contenders.

“We have completed our task, barring a few constituencies that will be finalised by the top leadership,” said Pokhrel, who is also a member of the task force.

According to sources, UML Chair KP Sharma Oli and CPN-MC Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal will finalise candidates on the basis of their strength at the local levels.

The second phase of the elections will elect 128 parliamentary first-past-the-post seats and 256 provincial FPTP seats. The UML and CPN-MC have agreed to share the seats on a ratio of 60:40.

However, the democratic alliance is still struggling to finalise seat sharing.

A meeting between the Nepal Congress and Madhes-based parties held today to discuss electoral alliance and seat sharing for the upcoming elections could not reach a conclusion.

According to NC leader Purna Bahadur Khadka, talks with the Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal ended on a positive note today. They will hold another meeting tomorrow. “Today we agreed in principle to forge electoral alliance. Tomorrow’s meeting will discuss in detail the seat sharing part,” he added.

Khadka said the upcoming meetings of the alliance would gradually finalise constituency allocation and management of top leaders.