Kathmandu, February 22
As the first meeting of Federal Parliament is around 10 days away, discussions about who should be the next parliamentary party leader in Nepali Congress have gained momentum of late. The discussions are significant for others outside the Congress party too because the party is taking the opposition role after its historic debacle in recent elections.
On the other hand, there are those who view that the election (or selection) of parliamentary party leader will decide if the oldest democratic party of the country will get a transformation anytime soon, and if yes, who is leading it. At the centre of this observation is party President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has seen largely confused over whether to take the leadership again.
Deuba, of course, commands a comfortable majority among lawmakers of his party if a voting selects the parliamentary party leader. But, many leaders inside the party view that as the ‘failed’ president, he should not claim the leadership again.
A section in the party has been lobbying that the president leave the space for someone to become the leader unopposed. In this case, General Secretary Shashanka Koirala can be the best pick for him.
But, Deuba has not articulated his interest till the date.
On the condition of anonymity, a Congress leader informs that Deuba wants to become elected the parliamentary party leader again, but he is not in the mood of ‘doing whatever it takes’ for it, also because he is unlikely to become the Prime Minister in next five years.
