Disappointed with the working style of Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, the royal palace is frantically searching for someone to replace him. From the long list of possible candidates, the palace has begun to zero in on one name, Shailaja Acharya (below), the firebrand leader of the Nepali Congress. She is a corruption vigilante who has blown the whistle several times in the past 12 years. If appointed to the position, His Majesty will get all the credit for giving Nepal it's first female prime minister. It is believed that Acharya's appointment to the top executive post will not only subdue the movement of the major political parties of the dissolved parliament but also mollify Girija Prasad Koirala (Shailaja's uncle) who was incensed after the king's 4 October move.

The unmarried leader of the NC, who has time and again vowed not to contest elections, has already had several audiences with the king. The monarch and Acharya are said to be on agreeable terms. However, many in the Nepali Congress are not happy with this development. Some leaders including the party's general secretary Sushil Koirala, spokesman Arjun Narsingh KC and Krishna Prasad Sitaula among others, have begun to try and scuttle Acharya's path to premiership.