Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: An electoral understanding has been reached between the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) for the House of Representatives elections scheduled for Thursday
A leader close to PDP Patron Dr Baburam Bhattarai told Himal Press on Sunday that a gentleman’s agreement for cooperation between NC and PDP has been reached.
Under the agreement reached on Saturday, PDP will support the candidates of NC in two constituencies of Gorkha. In return, NC will support PDP candidates in the local-level elections to be held in 2027.
In line with the agreement, PDP has urged its supporters to vote for NC’s election symbol “tree” under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting. In the proportionational representation system, however, the party has asked its supporters to cast their ballots for its own election symbol, the “Eye.”
The Nepali Congress and the then Naya Shakti Nepal (now PDP) had formed electoral alliances in Gorkha in the past as well. In the 2017 elections, Dr. Bhattarai was elected from Gorkha-2 with the support of the NC. They party supported then CPN (Maoist Center) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a common candidate of NC and left parties, in Gorkha-2 in the 2022 polls.
Dr Bhattarai had registered his candidacy with the PDP for the upcoming polls. However, he later withdrew it.
The Nepal Communist Party, formed after the merger of the Maoist Center and other left parties, and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) had also sought unconditional support from PDP for electoral cooperation.
