JHALANATH KHANAL WILL BE ELECTED PM THURSDAY (breaking news)

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 3 Feb.: UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal is certain to be elected prime minister later Thursday in a parliamentary vote after Maoist Chairman unexpectedly withdrew his candidacy to support Khanal.
Nepal will now have an elected government following the resignation of caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal who resigned 30 June 2010 under Maoist pressure.
UML will continue to head the new government.
The meeting of parliament to elect a government chief which was scheduled to met at one in the afternoon was delayed by several hours.
Final voting hasn’t taken place but speakers have already begun to congratulate Khanal whose victory is ensured with Maoist support in the 599-member parliament.
Maoists and UML command an absolute majority.
Dr.Prakash Chandra Lohini of Rashtriya Janaskakti Party congratulated Khanal for his ‘tact’ to convince Prachanda to withdraw his candidacy.
Pari Thapa os a splinter communist party called the emerging government as an administration of ‘leftists and progressive forces’.
It’s not clear as yet if Maoists will join the Khanal government
or support it from outside.
An attempt by PM Nepal and KP Sharma Oli to stop Khanal from becoming prime minister failed.
Nepal and Oli seconded and proposed Khanal’s candidacy.
NC parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Paudel and MJFL Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar were other two candidates in the election fray.
Gachedhar was described by speakers Thursday as a Madeshi and dalit leader from the Tharu community.
Khanal came into prominence in 2046 at the Open Air Theatre as the second general secretary of CPN (ML) which united with CPN (M) to form the UML.
Khanal is a big landholder from Ilam who is always nattily dressed and has never been in government before.
NC has said earlier it will stay in the opposition and won’t join a communist-led government.
A Maoist party meeting earlier decided to support Khanal with Vice-chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai pinning a note of dissent.
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