RAJENDRA MAHOTO RE-ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF NSP Kathmandu, 7 May: Rajendra Mahoto was unanimously re-elected chairman of NSP by a general convention in Janakpur Sunday. Ananda Prakash Pandey and Ananda Gupta withdrew their candidacies paving way for Mohoto’s election. The party will have a 61-member central committee. Nnnn PRESIDENT YADAV ATTENDS DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF ST XAVER’S SCHOOL Kathmandu, 7 May: President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav Sunday attended the diamond jubilee celebrations of Si. Xavier’s Shool at its premises in Jawalakhel Sunday as chief guest. The school is the first Jesuit school in Nepal. nnnn MAOIST REBELS PROTEST ‘DIRECT INDIAN INTERFERENCE’ Kathmandu, 7 May: A section of the UCPN (Maoist)-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union (Revolutionary) on Sunday staged a protest in the Capital against the “direct interference” of Indian government in Nepal’s politics. Students siding with the Maoist hard-line faction led by Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya demonstrated in front of the Trichandra Campus for an hour from 2 pm. The demonstration ogranised to object to the reported presence of Indian Ambassador to Nepal Jayanta Prasad in a meeting of top three party leaders and Madheshi Morcha representatives on Wednesday disrupted vehicular movement in the Bagbazaar-Jamal area. “We protest India’s interference in our internal issues. The Indian ambassador should not have been invited to Wednesday’s crucial meeting,” said Ratna Dhakal, central committee member of the ANNISU-R. “We condemn Indian interference in any sector of our country.” The student union has planned a series of protest programmes, which will be publicised on Monday. “We will announce further protest programmes at a press conference on Monday,” said Dhakal. Major political parties, in the presence of envoy Prasad, had agreed to dissolve the Cabinet and form a new national unity government under Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. nnnn PAUDEL’S CHANCES DIM Kathmandu, 7 May: With Nepali Congress General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula swearing in on Sunday as the deputy prime minister, party’s insiders say chances of party President Sushil Koirala leading the to-be-formed NC-led unity government have grown stronger, much to Ram Chandra Paudel’s chagrin, Arjun Paudel reports in The Kathmandu Post. Paudel had long been rallying around General Secretary Prakash Man Singh instead of Sitaula as, according to NC sources, Singh has been the most vocal supporter of Poudel’s leadership in the NC-led unity government. However, now with Sitaula at the helm against Poudel’s wish, leaders say the wind is less likely to blow in favour of the parliamentary party leader. “There has already been an agreement between Prachanda and Sitaula to make Sushil Koirala the next prime minister,” said NC leader Bal Krishna Khand. “Sitaula’s very presence in the Baburam Bhattarai-led government has thwarted Ram Chandra’s chance of being PM in the next government under NC’s leadership,” said an NC leader on condition of anonymity. Though Koirala himself has remained silent, a section in the NC has been urging Koirala to lead the next government to avoid a clash between NC’s PM hopefuls—Paudel and Sher Bahadur Deuba. Deuba faction has it that the party in its earlier Central Working Commit-tee (CWC) meeting had decided to field Ram Chandra Paudel as the prime ministerial candidate in case of a majority government and Deuba in case of unity government. Given the new complications, the party has problems taking a decision through CWC as the Deuba camp has been boycotting it for the last five months since he resigned as CWC member. While the Deuba faction has been holding separate gatherings, the Koirala camp is deciding on issues unilaterally. Only on Sunday, Deuba, who wanted to send Bimelendra Nidhi instead of Sitaula, flayed Koirala’s decision for “going against the party’s statute”. “When Deuba camp is already miffed at Koirala’s decision, it is less likely that he would field Paudel as prime ministerial candidate of the next unity government,” said NC leader NP Saud. NC leaders also said Paudel’s “hold” in the party and his ability to negotiate with the Maoists would also be crucial in deciding whether he would get the leadership role in the next unity government. “Power-centre wants consensus among the parties and is in favour of a powerful person as a prime minister who has a strong command over his own party,” said a source. “Paudel is considered as someone having not much hold in either in the NC’s parliamentary party or its CWC.” The establishment faction of the Maoists is also reportedly irked by Paudel’s latest campaign for no-confidence motion against their government. nnnn