Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has recommended Gopal Basnet, Krishna Paudel and Chandani Joshi to the President’s Office to be appointed to the Upper House.

Some of his ministers have expressed reservations over one of the nominees. A Cabinet meeting on Friday had authorised PM Deuba to take a final decision on nomination, following strong reservation from Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chair and Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa over Joshi’s name.

Thapa wanted to have his party’s share at least in one of the three posts, according to Minister for Information and Communications Mohan Bahadur Basnet, who is also the government spokesman.

In the 59-member Assembly, 56 have already been elected by the electoral college of provincial assembly members and chairs and deputy chairs of the local governments. The three will get into the Assembly once President Bidya Devi Bhandari approves their recommendation.

The PM nominated the trio for the Upper House as per Article 86, 2 (B) of the constitution. “PM recommended the names after the Cabinet meeting on Friday evening,” said Govind Pariyar, press advisor to PM Deuba. President Bhandari’s Chief Personal Secretary Bhesh Raj Adhikari confirmed that President’s Office has received the recommendations. “The government has recommended the names. The President will take appropriate decision soon,” he told the Post.

The NA will get full shape after the President approves the nominations. All the three nominees are active members of Nepali Congress or its sympathisers. Joshi is a social and moral supporter of the Nepali Congress. Basnet is an old NC leader from Jhapa who had served as secretary at the District Working Committee. He is close to NC President and PM Deuba. 

Paudel, a permanent resident of Bhirkot Municipality-1 of Syangja district, is the chief secretary of the NC central office. He was appointed to the post after Deuba’s election to the post of party president. Prior to that, Paudel had been affiliated to the NC-aligned Teachers’ Association and Trade Union.