Himal Press 
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KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to elect its parliamentary party leader by the end of this week.
The party decided to go for an election after efforts to forge a consensus among aspirants failed.
Muna Bhusal, a member of the committee overseeing the selection process, said the party aims to complete the process by the end of this week. She said the process would begin on April 15.
“We will first try to reach a consensus,” Bhusal told Himal Press over the phone. “If consensus is not possible, we will elect the parliamentary party leader through voting by the end of this week.”
Bhusal, who is also a Central Working Committee member of the party, said the election date has not yet been fixed. “There is no fixed date for the election yet. The committee will meet on Monday for further discussions. We will have a parliamentary party leader by the end of this week.”
NC lawmaker Ninu Kumari Karn said no formal discussion has been held within the party on choosing the leader. “There are rumors that the election will be held on April 17. But we have not received any formal information,” she said.
Although all other parties represented in the House of Representatives have already selected their parliamentary party leaders, the NC has yet to begin the process. Party leaders say the delay is due to a high number of aspirants. Those vying for the position include Bhishma Raj Angdembe, Arjun Narsingh KC, Mohan Acharya, Nishchal Rai, and Bharat Bahadur Khadka, among others.
The NC has 38 lawmakers in the House of Representatives, 18 elected through the first-past-the-post system and 20 through proportional representation. Of them, 16 belong to the Gagan Thapa faction, 15 to the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction, and 7 to the Shekhar Koirala faction.
Of late, the Deuba and Shekhar factions appear to have grown closer. If they remain united, it would be difficult for the establishment faction led by party President Gagan Kumar Thapa in the election.
The NC has not selected its parliamentary party leader through consensus since 2007. After the 2022 elections, then-party president Sher Bahadur Deuba defeated then-general secretary Gagan Thapa in the race for parliamentary party leader.
