If things go as planned within the incumbent seven-party ruling coalition, the posts of the President and the Speaker will go to the CPN (UML).
UML leaders say that the leadership of the legislative would in the hands of the UML since CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' had been made the Prime Minister.
The first parliamentary meeting is being held on January 10 since the election of a new parliament on November 20. Prime Minister Prachanda is set to take a vote of confidence during January 10's first meeting of the parliament and has already conveyed the Parliament Secretariat in this regard.
The Parliament Secretariat, however, is preparing to publish the schedule for the election of the Speaker once PM Prachanda secures vote of confidence.
Who will get the responsibility of leading the 275 MPs of the House of Representatives (HoR)? Whom will the UML make Speaker? These question are mostly thrown at leaders present at the UML party office.
One thing is certain though -- one who has earned the trust of UML Chair KP Sharma Oli will get to be the Speaker. And many leaders hesitate to openly claim who would be the Speaker. Nonetheless, many have pointed fingers to one UML office bearer.
The person is UML Secretary Chhabilal Biswakarma. Elected as secretary from the 10th convention, he is also the first Dalit leader elected as UML office bearer.
UML leaders believe that Biswakarma can be the speaker since he has remained trustworthy for long and has openly come out to support Oli in the times of crisis.
Oli is inclined to make Biswakarma, who has been elected to HoR from Rupandehi constituency 1, the Speaker.
Similarly, other names mooted for Speaker are UML Deputy Secretary General Prithvi Subba Gurung, who defeating General Secretary of the CPN (Maoist Center) Dev Gurung, and Bidya Bhattarai elected from Kaski.
However, one of UML office bearers sees greater possibility of Biswakarma becoming the Speaker.
"As far as I know and understand the chairman's psychology, he will make Biswakarma the Speaker this time," he said. "So far, his chances are high. He has won the election, exuded calm nature all along and has always defended the leadership. He possesses a special trait needed in the Speaker."
Since Chair Oli has provided opportunities to all those leaders who have unwaveringly supported him in the past, Biswakarma is the first and strongest preference to be made the Speaker.
"There is also discussion of our Deputy Secretary General Prithivi Subba Gurung, who is also an experienced, decent, friendly and frank leader," the leader added. "Bidya Bhattarai is also an intellectual and a woman leader. She is popular as well. But, if you try to understand the psyche of our chairman, it seems that psyche is more probable than other two leaders."
"Since Chair Oli is to make a decision, we cannot rule out changes at a later stage, given this is a new alliance, situation might force different things. Or else, I see the chair favoring Biswakarma this time," he said.
A section of UML leader are also lobbying to make Prithvi Subba Gurung the Speaker and others have put forward Bidya Bhattarai's name.
UML Deputy Secretary General Bishnu Rimal said that one of the leaders, who has been elected to HoR and is an office bearer, would be the Speaker.
"A senior leader who has been directly elected from our party and is also an office bearer will be the Speaker," Rimal told Nepalkhabar, "However, Chair Oli is yet to make a final decision on it."
Leaders say that the UML and the Maoist Center's power sharing agreement is to share half terms of Speaker and the Prime Minister.
If this agreement stands, Biswakarma will get the opportunity to be Speaker for two and a half years of the first term.
Biswakarma, who has stood by Oli since the 8th convention, has not got any opportunity so far, even as Oli became the prime minister twice. He is the only office bearer deprived of notable positions in power.
Subash Nembang became the chairman of the Constituent Assembly from 2063 BS and became the deputy leader of the UML parliamentary party. Bidya Devi Bhandari became President twice. Bishnu Paudel also became the finance minister several times.
Leaders Ishwar Pokharel, Pradeep Gyawali, Prithvi Subba Gurung, Kiran Gurung, Raghubir Mahaseth, Satya Narayan Mandal, Shankar Pokharel and Bishnu Rimal -- all got significant opportunities.
However, Biswakarma has not got any opportunity so far. More, in early days of UML, he was close to the then General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal. He also became the Minister of Agriculture in the interim government led by Girija Prasad Koirala after the second People's Movement.
However, after the eighth convention of the UML, he openly favored Oli.
Who is Biswakarma?
The 61-year-old, who worked in the party's standing committee, central committee and became the in-charge of India committee, was elected secretary from the 10th convention held in Chitwan last year.
He was elected as an alternate central member of the UML through open category from the seventh convention held in Janakpur.
After being elected as a central member (open category) from the eighth convention held in Butwal, he became a member of the Politburo. He became a member of the Standing Committee from the Ninth Convention held in 2071 BS.
He started his political journey from the then CPN (Marxist–Leninist) in 2037 BS and became the vice-chairman of All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) in Butwal Multiple Campus in 2038/39 BS.
He is the founder of Jatiya Utthan Manch, a fraternal organization in CPN (Marxist–Leninist), established in 2045 BS. He became vice chair from the first national assembly of the organization in 2047 BS, and general secretary in 2051 BS.
In 2055 BS, he was elected the chair of the Mukti Samaj Nepal from the forum's conference held in Pokhara, and became a member of the National Delegate Council from the sixth convention of UML held in Nepalganj.
He became a proportional representative member in the first Constituent Assembly in 2064 BS. In the election of second Constituent Assembly, he was defeated by Abdul Razzak of Nepali Congress in Rupandehi constituency 1.
However, he won the parliamentary election in 2074 BS.
