Three in fray in NC’s parliamentary party election in Province 1

ITAHARI: Three province assembly members of Nepali Congress have filed candidacy for the election of parliamentary party leader of Province 1 Assembly.

Amrit Aryal, Uddhab Thapa and Kedar Karki have filed their candidacies, according to the Province 1 Committee of the Nepali Congress. These three province assembly members represent three different factions of the party. While Aryal is close to the party’s establishment faction led by party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, Thapa is close to Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Karki is loyal to Dr Shekhar Koirala.

Bhim Parajuli, who was expected to contest the election, has thrown his weight behind Thapa.

The election will be held at NC’s parliamentary party office at 9 am on Friday.

NC is the second largest party in the 93-member Province 1 Assembly with 29 members. Candidates must secure 51% of the votes to get elected. This means candidates must get at least 15 votes.

Leaders close to Aryal say they have the support of 12 province assembly members. Similarly, Thapa is claiming he has the support of nine lawmakers. Karki, on the other, is counting 10 province assembly members as his supporters.