Kathmandu: Amid a political deadlock in Nepal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s Special Envoy Shyam Saran arrived here on Wednesday for high-level consultations with leaders of the country, which is without a Prime Minister for five weeks.
The visit of Saran comes ahead of the fourth round of
voting on Friday for a new Prime Minister in Nepal`s
Parliament, which has so far failed to elect a leader for the
top post.
Saran, also a former Indian Ambassador to Nepal, is
expected to meet caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal,
who had resigned in late June following intense pressure from
Maoists.
Nepal`s Constituent Assembly had in recent weeks held the
polls for the post of Prime Minister thrice, but both Maoist
chief Prachanda and his Nepali Congress rival Ram Chandra
Poudyal failed to win simple majority in the 601-strong House.
Saran is also expected to meet top leaders of the major
political parties here in an effort to defuse the political
crisis and help in government formation through consensus
among all groups.
Observers view the visit of former Indian Foreign
Secretary to Nepal as significant as it comes at a time when
the country is facing a major political turmoil.
India is considered an influential player in Nepal, which
also shares its border with another Asian giant China.
CPN-Maoist is the single-largest party with 238 MPs,
while Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have 114 and 109 seats
respectively in Nepal`s Parliament, which was elected in May
2008.
PTI
