by Nishan Khatiwada in The Kathmandu Post, Feb 19, 2023
As the presidential election nears, the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party has been in negotiations with other political parties, projecting the party’s chair Mahantha Thakur as the next president.
The discourse of a consensus president is making headlines of late. Thakur is rightly one such candidate, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party leaders say.
Party’s executive committee member Keshav Jha said that they have been holding informal talks with the Congress, the UML and the Maoist Centre proposing Thakur as the right candidate for the head of state. “Other parties are also positive but the choice depends on the decision of the UML, the Congress and the Maoist Centre,” he said.
According to Jha, even for the Congress Thakur is an option. “[UML Chairman] Oli too said ‘let’s move forward together’.”
All is not well with the ruling alliance, if the recent developments are anything to go by.
UML chief KP Sharma Oli and the party’s leaders have not given up their claim to the top national post, citing their agreement with the Maoist Centre while appointing its leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal the prime minister. Dahal has feet in two boats—the party is still undecided on whose candidate to support, six days before the nomination day. The party touts national consensus for a presidential candidate, in its bid to get closer to the Congress.
Nepali Congress has been claiming for the President’s post, and its leaders sound confident. The party strategically gave the vote of confidence to Prime Minister Dahal, which the CPN-UML leaders have been criticising as a mere show of opportunism.
Surendra Kumar Jha, a Loktantrik Samajbadi Party leader close to Mahantha Thakur, said the prime minister has hinted at two ideas recently: as the two previous presidents were from the big parties, he faced troubles in the past, and next he has not reached a final agreement as such with any other parties, neither the Congress nor the UML. So there is a place for a candidate with a neutral image such as Mahantha Thakur, according to Jha.
Prime Minister Dahal is more cautious about the candidates proposed by UML chief Oli as the incumbent President Bidya Devi Bhandari had allegedly rubber-stamped Oli’s decisions. The concentration of power in the UML is also worrying the Maoist Centre, as after two-and-a-half years it is the UML’s turn to lead the government. The UML will have a Speaker and a majority of chief ministers to maintain its dominance.
In such a case, making Thakur the President will also be a right move, which will solve the conundrum, without hampering the current coalition, according to Jha. “If our chair is made the consensus president, the current alliance between the UML and Maoist Centre will also remain intact,” he said.
Oli and Thakur discussed the presidential election on February 10. In the meeting, Oli sought Thakur’s and his party’s support in the election.
“If a consensus President needs to be sought, Thakur is the right leader, as he has not been embroiled in any controversy. He is not biassed, not in a mad rush for power,” said Surendra Jha. “The key leaders such as Oli, Deuba and Dahal also have been taking Thakur’s name in their parties meetings.”
Next important factor, according to the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, behind their claim is his sound relationship with other countries.
“His old legacy and relationship with the democratic countries, and the friendly nations is sound. He is the right leader to be the President,” a party leader told the Post.
https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2023/02/19/as-big-parties-argue-over-consensus-president-loktantrik-samajbadi-sees-thakur-s-chances
