JANAKPURDHAM: The Nepali Communist Party (NCP) has withdrawn its support from the Madhes Province government, further intensifying political negotiations over the formation of a new provincial government.
Following a virtual meeting of its parliamentary party, the NCP decided to quit the government. Subsequently, all four NCP ministers serving in the provincial cabinet submitted their resignations to Province Chief Dr Surendra Labh.
Those resigning include Finance Minister Yubaraj Bhattarai, Industry and Tourism Minister Kanish Patel, Home, Communications and Law Minister Fakira Mahato, and Energy, Irrigation and Drinking Water Minister Jawahar Kushwaha.
The Madhes government had already become a minority following the withdrawal of the CPN-UML. With the deadline for the minority government to seek a vote of confidence approaching, the NCP ministers also decided to step down.
Chief Minister Krishna Prasad Yadav is now required to secure a vote of confidence within eight days.
Outgoing Energy, Irrigation and Drinking Water Minister Jawahar Kushwaha said the ministers resigned to facilitate a political way out of the current situation and create an environment for forming a new government.
He clarified that their decision was not prompted by dissatisfaction with the government’s performance but was aimed at resolving the political uncertainty arising from the minority status of the government.
Kushwaha, however, declined to disclose which political party the NCP might align with in the emerging power-sharing arrangement.
The resignation of the four NCP ministers has further altered the political equation in Madhes Province, making negotiations among parties, including the CPN-UML and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), increasingly crucial to determining the formation of the next government.
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