Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said on Saturday that general elections will be held within November or mid-December.

“We are discussing it. Elections can be held in Kartik [October 15-November 15]. Controversy will arise if polls are delayed. You all [media] will also criticise if elections are delayed,” said Deuba during a brief interaction with the Post and its sister paper Kantipur after inaugurating Kantipur Half Marathon on Saturday morning.

“[But] Elections will happen within Kartik or Mangsir [November 15-December 15] after consulting with parties in coalition.”

Deuba’s statement comes amid speculations that the elections could be delayed.

He also said the results of the local polls were encouraging and therefore the alliance will continue until the upcoming polls.

“Whatever the alliance, Nepal has adopted a competitive election system which is good for democracy. I believe the coalition will remain intact,” Deuba said. “The reason that led to the formation of this coalition has not expired yet.”

According to him, the problems within the coalition, if any, are resolvable through dialogue among partners.

“Running a coalition of course is difficult… when running a party is not easy, a coalition is of course difficult to run,” he said.

Regarding some voices that his party, the Nepali Congress, against an electoral alliance during the local polls, Deuba said there are no disputes now.

“Within a democratic party, people have differing views. But we don’t have a problem in our party,” he said.

Congress has emerged as the largest party from the May 13 local elections, while its key coalition partner, the CPN (Maoist Centre) has stood third.