LOCAL NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Pokhara, Jan. 18: With the opening of 50 per cent of the CWC membership through an open and nation-wide voting, Congressmen are practically queuing up to fight for a place in the party’s top decision-making body.

Already more than 60 NC men have declared that they would be fighting for 18 seats of the Central Working Committee.

With so many aspirants, speculations are rife that the election could be complicated affair. Although Prime Minister and party President Girija Prasad Koirala has already said that election on the basis of panels would be a wrong procedure, some others, like Khum Bahadur Khadka, has not ruled out the election on panel basis completely.

So far, only two persons, Party President and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba have announced their candidacy for the party president. But it looks like there would be a rat race for the 18 members of the CWC, Many of the contestants are high-profile workers of the party, but some are quite unheard of.

Some of those who have confirmed their candidacy include: General Secretary Shushil Koirala, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel, Speaker Taranath Ranabhat, Minister of Finance and Defense Mahesh Acharya, Arjun Narsingh K.C., Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, Khum Bahadur Khadka, Purna Bahadur Khadka, Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, Jagannath Acharya, Gopal Man Shrestha, Omkar Shrestha, Manmohan Bhattarai, Sukra Raj Sharma, Sujata Koirala, Ashok Koirala, Govind Raj Joshi, Rewati Bhusal, Jit Chhiring Lama, Ang Gyaljen Sherpa, Gopal Pahadi, Bidur Poudel.

The CWC members will be elected by 1465 members of the convention delegates. Each voter will choose 18 names from the list of the contestants and the 18 who get the highest number of votes will be elected.

According to the party’s Spokesman, Narahari Acharya, the nomination will be opened on Saturday and the election will be held on Monday at 11 A.M.

Others who also spoke at the programme were Minister for Health Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, Chiranjibi Wagle, N.P. Saud, Bal Bahadur K.C., Prakash Man Singh, Bimalendra Nisdi, Guru Baral, NSU’s district president and Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat.

Dr. Yadav said Koirala should again become the party’s president with Deuba under him as deputy party president or the party’s general secretary. However Deuba said he is firm in his resolve to fight for the Party’s top job and nothing less.

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