CPN-UML lawmaker Bidya Bhattarai and Nepali Congress whip Pushpa Bhusal (Gautam) will be contesting for the deputy Speaker post. Voting has been scheduled for Friday.

“We have received nominations of Pushpa Bhusal (Gautam) from the ruling coalition and Bidya Bhattarai from the main opposition for the deputy Speaker post,” said Gopal Nath Yogi, secretary of the House of Representatives. “Election will take place at 3pm Friday.”

Bhusal is a common candidate of the five-ruling parties—Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party and Rastriya Janamorcha.

Maoist Centre’s chief whip Dev Prasad Gurung proposed Bhusal’s nomination while Unified Socialist’s lawmaker Laxmi Kumari Chaudhari seconded the proposal.

While UML’s whip Shanta Chaudhari proposed Bhattarai’s nomination, as another UML lawmaker Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel supported the proposal.

The ruling alliance holds a majority in the 271-strong House, making Bhusal’s victory comfortable.

The Congress has 61 lawmakers, the Maoist Centre has 48 excluding the Speaker while there are 23 lawmakers from the CPN (Unified Socialist). The Janata Samajbadi Party has 19 and Rastriya Janamorcha one.

The UML has 98 lawmakers.

One needs 136 votes to get elected to the deputy Speaker position which has been vacant for more than two years now.

This is the second time Bhusal is contesting for the position. She was defeated by Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe in the election for the post in March 2018.

Tumbahangphe, however, had to resign in January 2020 to pave the way for the election of Agni Sapkota as Speaker following the resignation of Krishna Bahadur Mahara after rape allegations.

At that time, Sapkota, a Maoist leader, represented the Nepal Communist Party, which was formed in May 2018 after a merger between the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the CPN-UML.

Article 91 of the constitution that says the Speaker and the deputy Speaker can’t be elected from the same party.

Had Tumbahangphe not resigned, Sapkota could not have become Speaker.