Several Madhesi leaders whom myrepublica.com contacted on Tuesday said the Front will not vote either for Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal or CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal, but is also likely to stay away from supporting NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel. [break]
Neither Dahal nor Khanal will be elected without support from the Madhesi parties. NC candidate Poudel will not win majority even if the Front decides to support him.
Khanal, according to the decision of the party, will even have to withdraw his candidature if he fails to bag support from the Front. According to the party decision, he is required to furnish evidence of support of a two-thirds majority - 401- to keep his candidature alive and this is not possible without the votes of the Front.
The Front was undecided whom to support on Tuesday. A meeting of the Front on Tuesday afternoon decided to support the candidate who stands by Madhesi issues and comes with a “credible” plan to complete the peace process and constitution writing, according to Chairman of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum Upendra Yadav.
The Front, which combined have 82 members, is meeting Wednesday morning to take a decision on whom to support.
A Madhesi leader said that the Front is unlikely to reach a unanimous decision to support Dahal as there is less possibility of the Maoists coming up with a credible plan to address their conditions. In that case, Dahal will not be able to bag the 300 votes required to get elected in the Wednesday vote, said the leader.
Some indicate a possibility of the MPRF deciding to vote for Dahal at the eleventh hour, on the basis of the party´s alliance with the UCPN-M in the last two year.
But an MPRF leader said on condition of anonymity, “We are in favor of a democratic alliance. We feel comfortable supporting Ram Chandra Poudel [NC prime ministerial candidate] because there is a big gap between the Maoist party and the Front.”
The gap, according to the leader, is related to issues concerning return of seized properties, management of Maoist combatants and Maoist commitment to multi-party democracy.
“We have little hope that the Maoists will be able to impress us with a credible plan in regard to these issues,” the leader further added.
Among the partners of the alliance, MPRF (D), Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) and Sadbhawana Party - who are also in the outgoing government - are opposed to supporting Dahal, said leaders from those parties.
“In this context, we do not want to risk breaking the alliance by supporting Dahal,” said the MPRF leader, who added that his party has suffered for being in alliance with the Maoists during the past one year.
Then comes the question: Will the Front support Khanal?
Madhesi leaders say that the possibility of the Front choosing Khanal is very slim.
A leader from TMDP asked, “How can we support a candidate from the party that broke the alliance and caused the downfall of the government?”
The leader further added that Khanal´s stance on Madhesi issues in the past has been a matter of concern for them. The leader said that Khanal was critical of Madhes and Madhesi people immediately after the election of the Constituent Assembly in 2008.
“He had said then that there was no Madhes and Madhesi people,” said the TMDP leader about Khanal´s public stance on Madhes.
The Madhesi leaders said that the Front is likely not to take part in the Wednesday election, sensing that no one will be elected prime minister on that day. “But we will vote for Poudel in the run-offs,” said the leader. TMDP leader Hridayesh Tripathi also said that the Front may remain neutral in Wednesday´s voting.
Meanwhile, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal held separate meetings with Madhesi leaders Tuesday evening to court the Madhesi parties. Parleys were in progress till late Tuesday night.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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