Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepali Congress has been elected as the first president of Nepal, the new Himalayan republic. Ram Baran Yadav defeated Ram Raja Prasad Singh, the candidate of Maoist party. With the election of Mr Ram Baran Yadav, the long standoff over the presidential election between the Nepali Congress and the Maoists has come to an end.

The 61-year-old Ram Baran Yadav garnered 308 votes to be elected as the first President of the new republic of Nepal. He will now replace the ousted king Gyanendra as the head of state.

According to the road map, the election of President was supposed to pave the way for a new government headed by the Maoists, but this surprising result will cast cloud on future developments as senior Maoist leaders have already warned that they would not be a part of the government if they lost the election.

After creating history in the recently held election, the defeat in the presidential contest will be a great blow for the Maoists as it has exposed lack of foresight and inability to co-operate with other political parties.