The CPN (Maoist Centre) and Nepal Samajbadi Party have agreed to contest the upcoming November 20 polls with the common election symbol and manifesto.

“The two parties have reached a verbal agreement to contest the polls under the common election symbol and common manifesto,” Bishwadeep Pandey, chief of the publicity department of Nepal Samajbadi Party told the Post. “A written agreement will be signed after the two parties discuss the issue separately by this evening or Monday morning.”

According to leaders, the two parties have agreed to go to the polls with the election symbol—hammer and sickle within a circle, which is the election symbol of the Maoist Centre.

The leaders of the two parties had been discussing ways to forge an electoral alliance for the upcoming polls for the last 10 days.

Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepal Samajbadi chair Baburam Bhattarai, however, had been holding talks for quite some months seeking some kind of alliance or even formation of a “socialist centre.”

Bhattarai, who quit the Maoist party in 2015 after the promulgation of the constitution, recently formed Nepal Samajbadi Party after he was expelled from the Janata Samajbadi Party.

Earlier on Sunday morning, Dahal and Bhattarai held discussions over going to the polls together.

The two parties are also discussing seat-sharing arrangements and issues to be included in the common election manifesto.

Currently, Nepal Samajbadi Party has two lawmakers—Bhattarai from Gorkha-2 and Yadav from Sarlahi-4.

The Election Commission has already asked political parties to register for the upcoming November 20 polls within August 16.

The two parties are preparing to register themselves for the polls on Monday.