Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, then Chairman of Nepali Congress and Prime Minister of the Interim Government, was defeated from Kathmandu-1 in the 2048 parliamentary elections after the 2046 change. Madan Kumar Bhandari, the then general secretary of UML, defeated him. If Bhattarai had not been defeated, there was a possibility that he would have been the Prime Minister instead of Girija Prasad Koirala.

A group within the Congress, including the supreme leader Ganeshman Singh, was disappointed by his defeat. Some even speculated that Bhattarai was defeated due to the non-cooperation of the Koirala side. But the incident of Koirala's apparent non-cooperation was not seen on the surface.

In the 2048 parliamentary elections, the by-elections were announced after those who won from two seats resigned from one constituency. At the same time, there was a discussion within the Congress to make Bhattarai the candidate again in Kathmandu-1. Some leaders, including Ganeshman, clearly had the intention of making Bhattarai a candidate again in the by-election. Bhattarai himself did not seem to want to contest the re-election. The Koirala party was not positive about the proposal to make Bhattarai a candidate. In particular, the Koirala side was more suspicious of Bhattarai's candidacy saying that there is a possibility of claiming the position of Prime Minister if he wins the election. 

Since Girija Prasad Koirala became the Prime Minister, the leaders of the Ganeshman party were angry with the work done by the government including political appointments. The conflict gap between Ganeshman and Koirala side was widening . Bhattarai was with Ganeshman. The tussle between the top leaders came to the surface through the media . The Koirala side was in favor of not making Bhattarai a candidate. But Bhattarai, who became the speaker in 2015, was also seen as an experienced leader of the parliamentary system . 

The 2047 constitution was issued under his leadership, skilfully suppressing the pressure given by the palace and the army to give more authority to the king. A party within the Congress was active in making Bhattarai, who successfully led the constitution making and the 2048 elections, a candidate.

Bhattarai was defeated in the elections conducted by himself as the Prime Minister. However, he had no major complaints about that. He used to say, 'This is what democracy is all about.'

After it was difficult to withstand the pressure within the party regarding making Bhattarai a candidate, the joint meeting of Singh, Bhattarai and Koirala agreed to proceed according to the sentiments of the workers . A secret meeting of the top three leaders held at the Prime Minister's residence, Baluwatar, decided to request Bhattarai to be a candidate. To formalize the same decision, a proposal was made to make Bhattarai a candidate in the Congress Central Committee meeting held on 4th November 2050. It was Koirala who proposed to be a candidate in the Bhattarai by-election in the central committee. It was supported by Singh. After the discussion on the proposal started, most of the central members spoke in favor of the proposal . In the meeting, Koirala was just sitting and laughing without speaking. 

Central members Nona Koirala and Shailaja Acharya had reservations about making Bhattarai a candidate. They suggested that Bhattarai should start strengthening the organization rather than contesting elections.

After the central committee meeting unanimously decided to nominate Bhattarai as a candidate, central member Taranath Ranabhat said, 'This decision will not push the party into any division and division.' Ranabhat told the media, 'Bhattrai can also be a possible candidate for the future prime minister.' The Koirala party was also afraid of the same. While Ganeshman was disagreeing with the government's activities, some were worried that if Bhattarai came to Parliament, his bargaining power with Koirala would increase. 

UML President Manmohan Adhikari also responded that Bhattarai's candidacy was positive. He said that apart from the two constituencies of Kathmandu and Jhapa, if he is a candidate from other places, he will campaign himself. The official said, "If Bhattarai wants to be the Prime Minister, then it is good." Ever since Koirala became the Prime Minister, the relationship with the UML has not been good. Tanakpur, Arun project, employee agitation, Dasdhunga accident and other incidents widened the gap between UML and Koirala.