A Maoist leader has said his party will not accept Girija Prasad Koirala as the first president of republican Nepal.

“CPN-Maoist is not going accept Girija Prasad Koirala as the president,” Hari Bhakta Kandel ‘Pratik’, a central Maoist leader, who also heads the party’s Bhojpura Sub-State Committee, said at the Reporters Club Friday.

The Maoist leader’s remark comes at a time when some NC leaders are believed to have sent feelers to the Maoist leadership that Koirala be given the first presidency. However, no NC leader has publicly spoken of this option.

In today’s six-party meeting, Maoist chairman Prachanda reportedly ‘requested’ Koirala to take the guardianship of the ruling alliance, clearly suggesting that the octogenarian leader stay out of the corridors of power, but assume a “respectable position” in the alliance.

During a recent meeting of the NC central working committee, some leaders had asked Koirala not to step down as Prime Minister, as the Maoists would require two-thirds majority on their side to claim government’s leadership. nepalnews.com mk May 09 08