PM Karki, Major Party Leaders Convene Again for Poll Talks

Prime Minister Sushila Karki met the top leaders of the three major political parties for the second time in five days on Saturday, December 27.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (UML) Chair KP Sharma Oli, and Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal held a joint meeting with the prime minister at the PM’s official residence in Baluwatar.

Earlier, Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel said the discussion would focus on the upcoming House of Representatives election, scheduled for March 5, 2026.

The Karki-led government has intensified efforts to create a conducive environment for the polls amid divisions among established parties over whether to prioritise elections or the restoration of the House dissolved after the Gen Z protests in early September.

While Gen Z factions have struggled to reach a consensus, Rastriya Swatantra Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah have held several rounds of talks in recent days to join forces for the upcoming elections. The duo, who command strong youth support, are reportedly planning to include Kulman Ghising, a minister in the Karki cabinet and chair of the Ujaylo Nepal Party, to strengthen their challenge against traditional parties.

On Friday, Minister Kharel held separate meetings with top leaders of major political parties at their respective residences.

Earlier, on December 23, President Ram Chandra Paudel and Prime Minister Karki met former prime ministers Dahal, Deuba and Oli at the Office of the President in Sheetal Niwas, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. It marked the first joint meeting among the President, the Prime Minister and senior leaders of the three major parties since the House of Representatives was dissolved following the Gen Z protests.

(With inputs from RSS)