By Amarendra Yadav

Kathmandu, Jan. 25: Since Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) seconded Nepal Communist Party (NCP) in fielding the candidate for the Speaker’s post on January 21, speculations have been made that the RJP-N will get the Deputy Speaker’s post.
RJP-N lawmaker Laxman Lal Karna, with the NCP lawmakers, had backed NCP candidate Agni Prasad Sapkota’s nomination for the post.
Media reports said the ruling party had informally promised to offer the post of Deputy Speaker to RJP-N.
Since Sapkota is the sole candidate for the Speaker, he will be declared elected on coming Sunday as per the election timeline.
RJP-N leaders said formal talks with the NCP on the post of deputy would begin only after the election of the Speaker. They said their party expected the seat of the Deputy Speaker because it had several deserving female candidates.
Talking to The Rising Nepal, RJP-N vice-chairman Brikhesh Chandra Lal said that his party supported the NCP candidate with an expectation to get the Deputy Speaker in return.
The alliance between the two parties for the National Assembly polls also produced the desired results in State 2, where they shared two seats each.
Similarly, the party’s general secretary Keshav Jha and joint-general secretary Jay Prakash Yadav also echoed vice-chair Lal stating that the top leadership of the party held talks with the NCP leadership on the issue but a final deal was not reached.
“Negotiations on Deputy Speaker’s post and other issues will start after the election of the Speaker,” they added.
Lal, Jha and Yadav, however, said they were not sure that their party was going to be offered the Deputy Speaker post.
“Although our party has been staking the claim to the post, it is all up to the NCP top leadership as the ruling party has a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives. The NCP might offer it to the Nepali Congress or other party,” they said.
The RJP-N leaders have become more uncertain about getting the Deputy Speaker post after the NC did not field its candidate against Sapkota.
“Why didn’t the NC field its candidate for the Speaker post? Has the NC had a secret deal with the NCP on sharing the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker similar to the deal of distributing the positions of the two transitional justice commissions between the two parties?” the RJP-N leaders questioned.
They said that if NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba had a secret deal with NCP chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, there was a slim chance for the Madhes-based party to get the Deputy Speaker.
The NCP and RJP-N struck a two-point deal to field two candidates each on their behalf in State 2 for National Assembly election after Samajbadi Party Nepal stepped down from the government.
Ever since the two-point deal, it is said that the ruling and opposition parties are inching closer to a fresh deal to incorporate the Madhesi party in the government.