KATHMANDU – President Bidya Devi Bhandari has proposed Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Executive Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to become the Prime Minister next year.
Summoning Prachanda at Shital Niwas on Tuesday evening, President Bhandari reportedly proposed him to become the Prime Minister next year as part of efforts to end the internal disputes within the ruling NCP.
President Bhandari also urged Prachanda to fulfill the responsibility of Executive Chairman of the party in line with his previous agreement with Prime Minister and party co-chair KP Sharma Oli.
“You have to honor the previous agreements and protect the party from a split. After one year, you will be the Prime Minister. Let’s hold the general election from the government that you lead. I would guarantee that arrangement. This will resolve the intraparty disputes,” a high-level source quoted President Bhandari as telling Prachanda.
The meeting between President Bhandari and NCP Executive Chairman comes in the wake of a growing intra-party rift that threatens to split the ruling NCP.
President Bhandari also proposed Prachanda to become the sole chairman of the party at the upcoming general convention. She has also assured Prachanda as the upcoming party chairman on behalf of Prime Minister Oli.
In response to the offer, Prachanda told her that Prime Minister Oli has been betraying him and could not be trusted.
Prachanda told President Bhandari that the implementation of the party’s previous decisions at party meetings would be the first step towards resolving the ongoing crisis.
