KATHMANDU, March 5: Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has been elected as the parliamentary party leader on Monday.

Deuba garnered 44 votes to defeat his rival Prakashman Singh in the voting that took place at Singha Durbar today morning. Singh only got 19 votes.

Nepali Congress (NC) has 63 lawmakers in the in 275 member federal parliament.

Deuba had filed his candidacy through Bal Krishna Khand and Bharat Kumar Sah on Sunday evening. Bijay Kumar Gachhadar proposed his nomination while Man Bahadur Bishwakarma seconded the proposal.

Singh, challenging party president Deuba, had filed his candidacy later. Leader Sita Devi Yadav proposed his candidacy and Sanjay Gautam seconded the proposal.

KATHMANDU, Nov 16: Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba seems confident that he will be elected the prime minister another three times.

Addressing a press meet in Dhangadhi, Kailali on Thursday, Deuba dismissed CPN-UML Chair KP Oli’s claim that this would be his (Deuba’s) last premiership and added, “My astrologer has told me that I will be prime minster for seven times- which means I will be the PM again, three more times.”

Oli, on Wednesday said that the left alliance would not let the Nepali Congress win any election again. But Deuba claimed that NC would garner majority in the upcoming parliamentary and province assembly election and a new government would be formed under his leadership.

Deuba also urged the voters to vote NC in the elections.

DEUBA’S LEGACY AND BHATTA CHALLANGE

Deuba is contesting the House of Representatives election from his home constituency Dadeldhura. The district has only one constituency.

Though Deuba has been winning the parliamentary election since 1991, he will face a tough challenge to maintain his legacy in the district. The CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have forged alliance in the district and have fielded Maoist Center’s Khagaraj Bhatta against Deuba.

Bhatta is a popular leader and is taken as an honest leader since the period of Maoist revolution. It will be the third bout between Deuba and Bhatta. Even though Bhatta lost to Deuba two times in the previous 2008 Constitution Assembly election and 2013 Constitution Assembly election, he has readied himself for another challenge against Deuba.

In the recent local polls, though NC won in four local levels, UML in two and Maoist Center in one, the left alliance has 8,605 more popular votes than NC.

Bhatta is confident that the left alliance dynamics will favor him; abd Deuba’s work, impact and personality and previous wins will be the strong base for Deuba to win the coming elections.