Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader election: PM Deuba pitted against General Secy Thapa

Kathmandu [Nepal], December 21 (ANI): Nepal's caretaker Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who is also the President of Nepali Congress party on Wednesday cast his vote in the election being conducted to pick the party's parliamentary party leader.
Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa, who is pitted against Deuba for the post also cast his vote this morning.
The Nepali Congress had emerged as the single-largest party in the country's general elections held on November 20.
The Nepali Congress is conducting elections to choose its parliamentary leader before the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected members of the House of Representatives (HoR) in the general election.
The country's President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has called on House members to form the government by December 25.
Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and General Secretary Gagan Thapa had filed their candidacy for the post of parliamentary party leader.
Deuba has been proposed for the post by Congress senior leader and former House speaker Ram Chandra Poudel while Purna Bahadur Khadka seconded the proposal. Thapa has been proposed by Shekhar Koirala and seconded by party vice president Dhanraj Gurung, general secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma and leader Pradeep Poudel.
The 89 lawmakers elected to the House of Representatives by the Nepali Congress, are eligible to vote in the election for the post of parliamentary party leader. The candidates will need at least 45 votes to secure the post.
According to the Nepali Congress party's statute if more than one candidate aspires to become the parliamentary party leader, it will be decided through an election process.
Other Opposition parties in Nepal have all elected their Parliamentary Party leader unanimously. The opposition CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist) and the CPN-Maoist Center parliamentary leaders have been selected unchallenged. The opposition CPN-UML which broke into two factions a year and a half before the general election already presented the Party chairman and erstwhile Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as its parliamentary party leader. Meanwhile, CPN-Maoist Center has chosen Pushpa Kamal Dahal as an unopposed or unchallenged party leader.
According to the final results of the general elections published by Election Commission, the Nepali Congress secured the highest 89 seats with CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist) tailing second with 78, Maoist Centre with 32, Rastriya Swatantra Party with 20, Rastriya Prajatantra Party with 14 and Janata Samajbadi Party with 12 out of total 275 seats. (ANI)