Election in Nepal is the only democratic way forward, says Ex-Nepal PM Madhav Kumar

Former Prime Minister of Nepal Madhav Kumar met Janata Dal-United (JD-U) President Sharad Yadav here today to discuss steps to strengthen relation between the two countries.

"We had discussions among political leaders on how to strengthen the relations between the two countries and many other issues. We discussed how to maintain peace and tranquility in Nepal and how to boost Nepal's economic development. Nepal is scheduled to go to polls and it is the only democratic way forward to tackle all problems," he said.

JD-U president Sharad Yadav expressed his concern over elections in Nepal and said that it is the biggest challenge for Nepal today.

"The biggest challenge is that Nepal should have elections as soon as possible and we mostly discussed this issue. Madhav Kumar has played a big part in maintaining the goodwill between India and Nepal and we had talks to take this relation forward," he said.

Earlier Madhav Kumar, a senior Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) leader, met India's Foreign Secretary, Ranjan Mathai, and discussed strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

He is accompanied by UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel and his former Foreign Affairs Adviser Rajan Bhattarai, and is also scheduled to hold meetings with senior Indian politicians during his visit.

He is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, on July 26.