Click to play videoKathmandu: The Maoists in Nepal are racing ahead in the constituent assembly polls to decide the country's future political system.
Former rebel leader Prachanda has retained his seat from Kathmandu, winning with a margin of 11,000 votes.
The Maoists could well be the single largest party in the newly elected constituent assembly. They have won 12 of the 22 seats declared so far.
Analysts are predicting they could get upto 200 of 575 seats with an outside chance of winning a majority in the 600 members Constituent Assembly.
The leader of the Nepal Maoist party Prachanda said that he is willing to work with other parties for the sake of democracy
The CPN-Maoist, which ended its decade-long insurgency in 2006 and contested the polls for the first time on April 10, seems to be moving towards a possible majority, with the Nepali Congress bagging three and CPN-UML four seats and both leading in 12 constituencies each.
The election to the 601-seat Constituent Assembly is expected to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy and frame a new constitution for the Himalayan state.
The Nepal election has been a setback for some of the CPN-UML's senior leaders, including general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, central committee members Pradip Nepal, Raghuji Panta and Siddhi Lal Singh, who have been defeated or trailing behind their rivals. Madhav Nepal has quit as the general Secretary of the UML.
Top CPN-UML functionaries, Bharat Mohan Adhikari, K.P. Oli, Bamdev Gautam and Ishwor Pokharel, are trailing in their respective constituencies.
Trends showed CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda, who has been projected as the future president of democratic Nepal, as leading in Kathmandu-10 constituency.
The Maoists, who are still named as a terrorist organisation by the United States, have been predicting victory for the former insurgents.
Former US president Jimmy Carter, international election watch groups, India and United Nations have praised Nepal for holding the election peacefully and bringing the Maoists to the multi-party democratic exercises.
In a reversal of fortune, though the Nepali Congress has gained in the Kathmandu valley, it has been defeated in some of its traditional stronghold outside the capital.
Nepali Congress heavy weights like the party's acting president Sushil Koirala and the Prime Minister's daughter, Sujata Koirala, are trailing. Party sources said Prime Minister Koirala's eight close relatives are facing a possible defeat.
Sujata's polling agents have left the counting venue in Sunsari-5 constituency, saying that there have been massive rigging by MPRF and CPN-UML, according to party sources.
"Criminals have been brought from Bihar to rig the election and one party worker was even killed during the polling day," she told PTI.
With Agency inputs
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