Nepal Cong plans to hold out

The final electoral outcome indicates that none of he parties has got a simple majority with the Maoists tally stuck at 220 in a house of 601. The Congress has 110 members.

8220;G P Koirala should continue to head the government,8221; former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is a prominent Nepali Congress leader, said.

Echoing Deuba, another Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat said the present government with G P Koirala as the prime minister was formed on the basis of a consensus among the seven parties, and the situation has not changed.

That the two leaders were speaking the prime minister8217;s mind became apparent when Koirala himself said that Nepali Congress would take the initiative for building a consensus, but chose not to answer if he will give up the leadership in the wake of the poll outcome.

8220;Nepali Congress will take the initiative to build a consensus,8221; he said at an interaction with the media on Friday.

The Congress is under pressure to sever its alliance with the Maoists following continued attack by the Maoists on its workers and leaders.