Scuffles were reported among Gen-Z factions backing different contenders outside the Nepal Army headquarters in Kathmandu on Wednesday evening, as talks to pick an interim leader after the violent overthrow of the government extended into the third day.
At least four names have since appeared prominently, starting with Kathmandu mayor and rapper Balendra Shah ‘Balen’ on Tuesday, then former chief justice Sushila Karki on Wednesday, and then Kulman Ghising, a former chief of the electricity board, on Thursday morning.
Harka Raj Sampang Rai, aka Harka Sampang, the current mayor of Dharan, is also in the mix. Rabi Lamichhane, a journalist-turned-politician, is popular too among young citizens, who broke him out of jail during the protest as they felt he was being persecuted on false charges of corruption.
The scuffle on Thursday evening were among those who want Balen, Sushila Karki or Sampang, multiples outlets reported.But there was no final decision yet, even as talks were being held among Gen-Z reps, President Ram Chandra Paudel, and the army chief.
The President, meanwhile, issued an appeal for calm and said he was doing his best to find a solution — a letter seen as a signal to Gen-Z representatives to “take the onus and decide”, sources told HT.
Updates: Live coverage of Nepal’s volatile political situation
The Himalayan country wedged between India and China is facing a rebuilding crisis after protests triggered by a social media ban quickly widened over deep-set frustrations and unseated the government at the start of this week.
Most of the older lot, even the once-radical since-mainstreamed Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, is out of favour.
