Prachanda to be Prime Minister; NC fields Deuba for post

Kathmandu, Aug 14 (UNI) Chairman of the Maoist Party Prachanda is set to become Nepal's Prime Minister after the UML and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) decided to support him while former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will contest from the Nepali Congress (NC).

The election for the post is being held tomorrow at the Constituent Assembly (CA) as the parties failed to make an understanding over the Defence Ministry portfolio which now would be under the Maoists.

The NC said the Maoists cannot lead the national Army as it has nearly 20,000 combatants living in various camps across Nepal under the UN monitoring.

The Maoists, the UML and the MJF have signed an agreement to support the Maoist candidate for the post of Prime Minister and decided to prepare a common minimum programme and allocate other ministerial portfolio through mutual understanding.

Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of the NC has been fielded for the candidacy of Prime Minister. The NC has 112 seats in the CA. The Maoists, the UML and the MJF make over 380 seats.

The relations between the NC and the Maoists has become sour after the latter tried to form an alliance excluding the former during the election of the President.

UNI XC SKB HS1803