Nepal President Yadav was handpicked by Koirala

Thu, Jul 24 03:02 PM

Even after resigning as Prime Minister, octogenarian leader G P Koirala calls the shots in post-monarchy Nepal with his handpicked candidate elected as the first president, a move that sidelined the Maoists and won his party the support of Indian-origin Madhesi community.

"It is my father who proposed the name of Ram Baran Yadav (for the post of president," Sujata Koirala, the daughter of the veteran Nepali Congress said.

Yadav was the family physician of Koiralas since 1980s and was picked up to join the politics by Girija Prasad Koirala himself.

The Nepali Congress had initially proposed Koirala name for the post, but after strong opposition from Maoists and Madhesi groups, Koirala approached his party colleagues former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, party Vice-president and Peace Minister Ram Chandra Poudyal and Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat.

However, after the three did not show much interest Koirala thought that Madhesi candidate of the party will give a good fight against Maoist candidate Ram Raja Prasad Singh, another leader from the Madhesi community, revealed Sujata, also a central committee member of Nepali Congress.

The Maoists, who were trying to install a "weak" President, proposed the name of Ram Raja Prasad Singh in a last minute decision though they had earlier promised to support CPN-UML candidate Madhav Kumar Nepal.

The CPN-UML which felt humiliated after Prachanda rejected Nepal's name, forged an alliance with Nepali Congress at the eleventh hour and with the backing of Madhesi People's Rights Forum and other smaller parties, Yadav was elected as president.

A sulking CPN (Maoist), which had earlier staked claim to form the government and forced Koirala to quit, has now declared that it will sit in the opposition.

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