Himal Press 
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KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma has said that the party’s senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel should be made a presidential candidate.
Talking to media persons at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Sharma said it would not be appropriate to field someone who has already exercised executive power for the position.
“Sher Bahadur Deuba, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Baburam Bhattarai have all exercised executive power. Therefore, it would be appropriate to propose Ramchandra Poudel or other leaders with their support,” he said, urging former prime ministers not to harbor any such hope.
“I was the one who proposed Deuba to become a presidential candidate. But after holding discussions with friends, I realized it would not be appropriate to propose former prime ministers for the post.”
Sharma said since the third-largest party in parliament has got the position of prime minister, and the second-largest has got the speaker, it is natural for the largest party to stake a claim for the post of president.
He also said NC has not officially said that the president should be elected on a national consensus basis. “We will field our candidate in the presidential election. We are clear that if Prime Minister Dahal supports our candidate, it will disseminate some message,” he added.
