KATHMANDU: Attempts of the ruling coalition to form a government in Koshi Province, by wooing the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), have been unsuccessful.
As a result, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” is now considering asking Speaker Baburam Gautam to step down.
RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden has “rejected” the proposal of the ruling coalition to join the government in Koshi Province, emphasizing that power is not a priority for his party.
With the deadline of Tuesday (August 1) set by Koshi Province Chief Parashuram Khapung to submit a claim for the post of Chief Minister looming, the pressure is mounting on the parties.
Prime Minister Dahal’s initial plan was to convince RPP Chairman Lingden to join the coalition, but since that option has been declined, he is now focusing on persuading Speaker Gautam to resign.
Currently, the RPP holds six seats in the Koshi Province assembly, and if Gautam were to resign, the ruling coalition would have 47 seats, with 29 from the Nepali Congress, 13 from the Maoist Center, 4 from Unified Socialist, and one from the Janata Samajwadi Party.
In the midst of these developments, Maoist Center’s Indra Angbo publicly expressed his interest in becoming the Chief Minister of Koshi Province on Sunday. However, a meeting of the top leaders of the ruling coalition held on Sunday has decided to appoint Uddhav Thapa of the Nepali Congress as the Chief Minister.
If the parties fail to form a coalition joint government in Koshi Province within the stipulated time as per article 168 (2) of the Constitution, the CPN-UML, as the largest party in the Province, will have the responsibility of appointing the Chief Minister.
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