Biswo Poudel, a member of the Governor Recommendation Committee and former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission, has resigned from the committee.

The Finance Minister’s Secretariat confirmed his resignation on Sunday, paving the way for his proposed appointment as the next governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. Poudel’s resignation was necessary as the recommendation committee cannot nominate one of its own members for appointment for the post.

The resignation follows delays and political deadlock after acting governor Neelam Dhungana refused to approve the resignation of Gunakar Bhatta, who had reportedly been agreed upon as next governor by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Despite Bhatta’s resignation on April 18, Dhungana’s inaction prompted the Congress to propose Poudel as an alternative candidate for the central bank’s top position.

Sources say the ruling coalition, led by the Congress and CPN-UML, had agreed that Congress would nominate the next governor as part of a political deal.

The proposal was reportedly presented by Deuba during a high-level meeting at Baluwatar on Saturday, attended by top leaders including Prime Minister Oli, Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba.

Paudel had been serving on the recommendation committee as an expert member alongside Finance Minister Paudel and former governor Maha Prasad Adhikari.

A legal provision requires the appointment of a new central bank governor at least one month before the incumbent's term ends. Despite outgoing governor Maha Prasad Adhikari retiring on April 6, the government formed the recommendation committee only on March 24 and has yet to initiate the formal appointment process even after six weeks.