KATHMANDU: Bagmati Province Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya is preparing to seek a vote of confidence after the CPN-UML withdrew its support from the provincial government.
The Nepali Congress-led government has been reduced to a minority after UML pulled out following the Congress decision on July 15 not to continue the year-long power-sharing arrangement between the two parties.
Under the constitutional provision requiring a chief minister to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days after a supporting party withdraws its support, Baniya is preparing to seek the vote in the provincial assembly on August 19.
Min Krishna Maharjan, secretary of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party in Bagmati Province, said preparations were underway for Baniya to seek the vote of confidence on August 19.
He said Congress provincial lawmakers have already been instructed to be present in Hetauda by August 18.
According to Maharjan, preparations for the vote have been completed and discussions are underway with other parties represented in the provincial assembly to secure support.
Meanwhile, Hamro Nepali Party (HANEPA), which has two seats in the provincial assembly, has joined the government ahead of the confidence vote.
Chief Minister Baniya has assigned HANEPA leader Shailendra Raj Bajracharya the Ministry of Physical Development and Infrastructure.
Following UML’s withdrawal from the government, Baniya also reshuffled his Cabinet. Provincial lawmakers Shivaraj Adhikari, Urmila Nepal, Kanchan Chandra Badel, Prabhat Tamang, Suresh Shrestha and Krishnakumar Tamang have been assigned the ministries of Internal Affairs, Law and Cooperatives; Agriculture, Livestock, Forest and Environment; Health and Social Development; Economic Affairs and Planning; Industry, Tourism, Labour and Transport; and Water Supply, Energy and Irrigation respectively.
According to Prakash Chapagain, spokesperson and deputy secretary at the Provincial Assembly Secretariat, Baniya must secure a vote of confidence by August 20.
The Constitution requires a chief minister to table a vote of confidence motion in the provincial assembly within 30 days if a party supporting the provincial government withdraws its support.
If the motion fails to secure a majority of the total number of sitting provincial assembly members, the chief minister is required to step down.
Baniya needs support of 53 lawmakers
According to the constitutional provision, the provincial chief may appoint as chief minister a member who commands the support of two or more parties represented in the provincial assembly.
The 110-member Bagmati Provincial Assembly currently has 104 members after six lawmakers contested the House of Representatives election held in March.
A total of 53 votes are therefore required to prove a majority and form or retain the provincial government.
The Nepali Congress is the largest party with 36 seats, while the CPN-UML has 25 seats, including the deputy speaker, and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) has 26 seats.
Although UML and NCP have reached an understanding to form a new governing coalition, their combined strength stands at 51 seats, two short of a majority.
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party has 12 seats, the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party has three, and HANEPA has two seats.
Support from the RPP, NWPP or other smaller parties will therefore be crucial for the UML-NCP alliance to form a government.
Dispute within UML over chief minister
The latest political developments have also triggered an internal dispute within the UML over who should lead the provincial government.
An understanding has been reached between the UML and NCP to form a new government, with the UML expected to lead Bagmati Province.
However, an internal no-confidence motion was registered against UML parliamentary party leader Jagannath Thapaliya on August 12.
Kiran Thapa, who supported the motion, claimed that it had been signed by 16 provincial lawmakers. He said he was seeking to advance himself as parliamentary party leader and a potential candidate for chief minister.
Thapa said the UML should give him responsibility for leading the provincial government in line with the power-sharing agreement reached between the UML and NCP.
He added that he was also holding discussions with the RPP and NWPP to secure the numbers needed to form the government.
Meanwhile, Thapaliya has said he remains committed to strengthening and unifying the party and making it more effective.
The Congress-UML power-sharing agreement reached on July 24, 2024, had provided for Congress and UML to lead the Bagmati government for 20 months each. Under the agreement, Congress parliamentary party leader Bahadur Singh Lama had initially become chief minister.
However, before completing a year in office, Congress changed its parliamentary party leadership, with Baniya later becoming the parliamentary party leader and chief minister.
The power-sharing arrangement with UML continued for some time before the coalition eventually collapsed following a new decision by the Congress central leadership.
Comment