Parties begin campaigning for president, vice prez posts

KATHMANDU, July 18 - With just one day to go before Nepal has a new president and vice president, candidates vying for the two posts from the three major parties--- CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML--- intensified their campaigns Friday.Presidential candidates Ram Raja Prasad Singh, Dr Ram Baran Yadav and ... ...Prit Paswan and vice-presidential candidates Shanta Shrestha, Maan Bahadur Bishwakarma, Asta Laxmi Shakya and Parmananda Jha started campaigning in earnest today for the elections taking place on Saturday at 11am.Since no single party has a clear majority, the political parties represented in the Constituent Assembly (CA) are bound to coordinate with other parties, said sources.Meanwhile, the NC and the UML are talking about forging an electoral alliance at the UML parliamentary party office in Singhadurbar.Efforts by UML to coordinate with the NC come after the Maoists proposed Ram Raja Prasad Singh as their presidential candidate ignoring the understanding between the two parties.An electoral alliance between the NC and UML remains doubtful as both parties have registered different candidates for both the post of president and vice president.NC leader Minendra Rijal informed that the two parties will start discussions with the Madhes-based parties once an agreement is reached.Likewise, UML standing committee member Amrit Kumar Bohara said UML is carrying out consultations with other parties only after failing to strike a deal with the Maoists.Meanwhile, the Maoists are preparing to hold discussions with the Madhes-based parties and 13 fringe parties elected to the CA to garner support for the Maoist vice president candidate Shanta Shrestha.The Maoists have intensified parleys after the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) registered Parmananda Jha's for vice president although it expressed solidarity with the Maoists' choice of Singh.The MPRF is lobbying to ensure Jha's victory in tomorrow's election.Also today, an NC joint meeting of its central committee and parliamentary party will prepare the electoral campaign and strategies at the Prime Minister's official residence at Baluwatar.Similarly, the Terai-Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) is holding its Working Committee's meeting today.TMDP leader Hridayesh Tripathi informed that the meeting will decide whose candidate to support in the elections.

Add to: del.icio.us | Digg