Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has proposed the name of Guru Baral for Presidency.
Oli proposed the name during his meeting with CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday.
Responding to Oli, Dahal said the name has to be discussed in the meeting of the coalition parties.
Maoist Center has formally decided that the President should be elected based on national consensus. Maoist Center leaders have been saying that Oli’s confidant cannot be accepted for the presidency.
Baral is believed to be close to Oli.
“We have come to know that Oli has proposed the name of Guru Baral for the presidency. We won’t accept people close to Oli for the post,” a Maoist Center leader told Himal Press.
The leader also said that the matter was still under discussion.
Dormani Poudel, Goma Devkota and Bishnu Rimal are the other possible names in UML for the presidency.
Who is Baral?
Baral is the standing committee member of UML. Baral, who first became secretary of the party’s Morang district committee, has been on the party committee on a regular basis. He was elected to the party’s executive committee by the 10th general convention.
Baral was elected member of the House of Representatives from the Morang-6 constituency in 1994. In the 1999 election, however, he was defeated by Hari Narayan Chaudhary of the Nepali Congress.
He was defeated in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election from Morang-8 and the 2013 Constituent Assembly election from Morang-3. Likewise, he faced defeat in the National Assembly election from Province 1.
Baral is currently serving as the president of Madan Bhandari Memorial Foundation.
