KATHMANDU: Sher Bahadur Deuba, President of the Nepali Congress (NC), has urged Rajendra Lingden, Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), to support Surendra Raj Pandey, Chief Minister of Gandaki Province, in his upcoming vote of confidence on June 10.
CM Pandey, who previously lost his majority in the provincial assembly, visited Kathmandu to discuss the vote of confidence and announced his intention to seek the vote soon after his return.
Pandey was appointed to his position after the Supreme Court declared the confidence vote process of former CM Khagraj Adhikari unconstitutional, thereby relieving him of his post.
Deuba has written a letter to Lingden, urging him to support CM Pandey in securing the confidence vote.
Pandey, the parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Congress, was appointed according to Article 168 (3) of the Constitution of Nepal.
The bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Sunil Pokharel nullified the vote of confidence secured by the outgoing Chief Minister Adhikari, ruling that the 30 votes received in the 60-member Provincial Assembly did not constitute a majority.
The Gandaki Provincial Assembly includes 27 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress.
CM Pandey requires 31 votes to secure his vote of confidence.
The RPP represents two seats in the province.
Even with the support of the RPP’s lawmakers, CM Pandey will still be two votes short of winning his confidence vote.
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