Both the ruling and opposition parties remain undecided about their candidates for the National Assembly chair elections scheduled for Tuesday.

As per an eight-point agreement among the four parties in the ruling alliance, the CPN-UML and the Janata Samajbadi Party will support the CPN (Maoist Centre) candidate in the Assembly chair elections. The CPN (Unified Socialist) too joined the ruling coalition later.

Though the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the fourth-largest in the House of Representatives, is in the ruling coalition, it has no members in the upper house.

The Maoist Centre, however, is undecided on the candidate even though its victory is almost guaranteed. “We do not know who will be the candidate,” said Ganesh Shah, the Maoist Centre secretary. We must agree on someone by Monday.”

According to multiple Maoist leaders the Post talked to, Urmila Aryal, the incumbent vice-chair of the Assembly, Jhakku Subedi, who was recently elected a member of the upper chamber, and Narayan Dahal, a close relative of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, are the hopefuls from the Maoist party.

Party leaders had assured Aryal of the candidacy before forming the new alliance when it wasn’t clear that the Maoist party would get to field the common candidate, a Maoist Centre central committee member said.

After the overnight change in the political situation, it is almost certain that the coalition’s candidate will win the position. Therefore, two more Maoist leaders have now expressed interest in landing the prestigious position.

The National Assembly chair is an ex-officio member of the Constitutional Council that recommends office bearers of the constitutional bodies as well as the chief justice.

The Maoist Centre, the largest party in the upper chamber, has 17 members, the CPN-UML has 10, the Unified Socialist has eight, and the Janata Samajbadi Party has three members. The ruling coalition has a comfortable majority in the 59-strong Assembly to win the election.

At the Maoist Centre parliamentary party meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Dahal said the decision to break up with the Congress and to forge an alliance with UML was made in haste because of the Tuesday election.

After the Congress Mahasamiti meeting took a hard position against the alliance, “we faced more pressure” and had to change the alliance, a Maoist lawmaker quoted Dahal as saying. The Congress Mahasamiti’s decision was a key factor in the change in coalition, the prime minister told party colleagues, according to a Maoist Centre lawmaker.

Two more leaders staked their claim to the top post, said a Maoist central committee member. Dahal is interested in promoting Narayan Dahal, one of his close relatives, the leader said.

Some Maoist leaders have lobbied for Subedi, who also enjoys Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun’s backing. “There is a triangular fight,” the central committee member said. “We have also heard that the prime minister has already informed UML leaders about recommending Narayan Dahal.”

The names of possible candidates were discussed at the Saturday meeting. Some Maoist leaders argued that fielding Subedi would be more appropriate as he can serve for a longer time. He was nominated as an Assembly member by then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari in April last year.

On the other hand, the ruling coalition has also been unable to recommend the name of a National Assembly member. Article 86 (2) (b) of the constitution says three members with at least one woman are nominated by the President on the recommendation of the government of Nepal. Two members to be appointed on the government’s recommendation are currently serving. The Cabinet has yet to recommend the third member to the President.

The candidate for the National Assembly chair would be decided by Sunday, said Hitraj Pandey, chief whip of the Maoist Centre. Prime Minister Dahal had given such a hint at the meeting.

As per the eight-point agreement, another ruling party, the UML is to get the post of Assembly vice-chair. For that Aryal, from the Maoist Centre, has to make way for a UML candidate.

As an aspirant for the post, she has sought assurances from Maoist leaders of her candidacy before she steps down from her current position.

“If I am not given the chance to fight for the chair, I will not resign from the vice-chair position,” Aryal reportedly told some Maoist leaders.

Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, the outgoing chair, completed his term on March 3.

On the other hand, the opposition bloc is also unclear on its candidate. The Nepali Congress on Saturday decided to field its candidate for the position.

Before Dahal broke the Maoist-Congress alliance, the largest party was prepared to field Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who was elected a National Assembly member from Koshi Province, for the role.

Now the opposition bloc is weakened and unlikely to win the election. According to Congress General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma, the candidate would be chosen after discussions with the party’s Assembly members. A Congress leader said Sitaula is unlikely to run for the post in the changed political scenario.

“He has already communicated to party president Deuba about his decision not to contest the election,” the leader said.

General Secretary Sharma said the candidate would be decided after consultations with other opposition parties. The Congress has 16 members in the Assembly.

Deuba was tasked with consulting other opposition parties before reaching a conclusion, said Min Bishwakarma, the head of the party’s publicity division. “The party president would consult other opposition parties including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party and reach a decision by Monday,” he said.