KATHMANDU, August 8: Nepali Congress (NC) President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has asked Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) Chairman Mahanta Thakur to join the ruling coalition for the elections to the provincial assemblies and House of Representatives slated for November 20. PM Deuba made such a proposal to top leaders including LSP Chairman Thakur. LSP leaders along with Thakur had reached Baluwatar on Sunday to talk to Prime Minister Deuba.
"The Prime Minister has formally asked us to join the ruling coalition," said LSP leader Rajendra Mahato, who participated in the meeting, "We have taken his proposal positively. Now we will hold a meeting soon and come to a conclusion."
'Will you bring LSP in the alliance?' Thakur asks PM Deuba
LSP has already decided to participate in the provincial assembly and HoR elections by allying with other parties. LSP leaders are having formal/informal discussions with various parties on this matter. The LSP leaders also talked to CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. According to LSP sources, there are two sides in the party regarding forming an electoral alliance. Some leaders are in favor of joining the ruling coalition while others are in favor of an alliance with the UML.
Deuba has also asked the LSP to join the government. "The Prime Minister has offered us to participate in the government," Mahato said, "We are positive about this issue as well." Stating that some of the demands made by the LSP have been fulfilled and the government is in the process of fulfilling others, Mahato said, the Citizenship Bill has been passed. “We have told the Prime Minister to withdraw the false cases filed during the Madhesh movement. He is positive about it,” Mahato further added.
The main opposition UML says that the Cabinet will not be reconstituted now because the election date has been announced and the current government has automatically become a caretaker government. Lately, the relationship between the Prime Minister and the leaders of LSP has improved. According to LSP executive committee member Keshav Jha, Deuba and Thakur have already met five times after the local elections. Even before the local elections, Deuba and Thakur met several times.
Before the local elections, the Prime Minister tried to bring the LSP into the alliance. Sources say that at that time, Janata Samajwadi Party Chairman Upendra Yadav was not ready to have LSP on board the alliance, but now the situation has somewhat changed.
