Kathmandu, July 9

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal lawmakers are likely to choose their parliamentary party leader on Saturday.

RJP-N leader Keshav Jha said the party had distributed a draft of parliamentary party statute to the lawmakers seeking their suggestions on the document by mid-day tomorrow following which, the draft would be finalised.

“Most probably parliamentary party leader will be elected on Saturday when party’s lawmakers will hold another meeting,” he added.

Despite the passage of months after parliamentary elections, RJP-N is the only party in the Parliament which has not elected its parliamentary party leader.

RJP-N sources said the party failed to elect its parliamentary party leader for so long because they wanted members of party presidium Mahantha Thakur and Rajendra Mahato, top contenders for the post, to reach an agreement so the leader could be chosen unanimously. Another reason was that of non-enactment of parliamentary party statute all these months.

Jha said the party leaders were still divided over whether there should be provision for electing deputy parliamentary party leader with RJP-N leader Mahendra Ray Yadav supporting the idea and other leaders opposing it. Sources said if Mahato and Thakur did not reach an agreement then, the PP leader would be decided through the voting process. RJP-N has 17 lawmakers in the Parliament.