Paudel in mood to stay neutral at the general convention

Unable to decide whom – Sher Bahadur Deuba or Sushil Koirala – to
support for the post of party president, Nepali Congress (NC) vice
president Ram Chandra Paudel is contemplating staying neutral at the
up coming general conventions of the party.

Paudel is in a mood to stay neutral as he is faced with an anomaly
about supporting a particular faction. Paudel is considered to be
close to acting President Koirala, and it is quite certain that he
will support Koirala if he has to choose between the two.

However, Paudel is caught in a moral dilemma as he was proposed by
Deuba as a candidate for the post of the Prime Minister. Deuba, who
had also claimed stake for the candidacy for PM withdrew at the last
moment for the sake of Paudel.

Paudel himself was considered a presidential candidate in the party
before the prime ministerial race began. He is still a hopeful
candidate for party president in the upcoming general convention. So,
he does not want to make any foes in the party.

His close aides say, that is one factor Paudel is considering to stay
neutral. If he does not support any of the two candidates, Deuba will
benefit indirectly.

Many middle-path leaders including Pradip Giri, Chiranjivi Wagle, Bal
Bahadur KC, Deep Kumar Upadhyaya, Purna Bahadur Khadka, and Khum
Bahadur Khadka, who were all close to Deuba earlier have promised to
support Paudel if he severs tie with the establishment faction and
stays neutral.

However, Paudel has not made a formal announcement yet. Also, it is
not clear, whether he will support the third presidential candidate
Bhim Bahadur Tamang or stay totally neutral.