Coalition strategizes to include Speaker to ensure majority for government formation in Koshi Province

BIRATNAGAR: With the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) showing reluctance to join the Koshi State government, the coalition parties are making arrangements to ensure a majority by involving the Speaker.

As the deadline for government formation under Article 168(2) of the Constitution, as set by the Province Chief, draws near, the coalition partners are prepared to assert their majority by incorporating the Speaker.

Despite the coalition parties’ last-ditch efforts to include the RPP in the coalition government, they are also actively working towards securing a majority by involving the Speaker of the State Assembly.

While striving to incorporate the RPP into the government, the coalition partners are simultaneously making arrangements to assert their majority by including the Speaker.

According to the Constitution of Nepal, the Speaker is expected to maintain a neutral stance within the Province Assembly.

In a situation where there is an equal number of votes for a particular proposal within the House, the Speaker holds the authority to cast the deciding vote.

This provision grants the Speaker the responsibility of ensuring fairness and impartiality in the decision-making process.

A minimum of 47 seats is necessary to secure a majority in Koshi Province.

As the coalition party’s choice for Chief Minister, Uddhav Thapa, the leader of the Nepali Congress Koshi Province Parliamentary Party, has been put forward.

Among the parties in the Koshi State Assembly, the Nepali Congress holds 29 seats, the Maoist Center has 12 seats, the Unified Socialist has 4 seats, and the Janata Samajwadi has 1 seat. Consequently, the coalition will consist of 46 members, excluding the Speaker.

The CPN-UML has issued a warning, expressing their objection to the coalition’s potential strategy of including the Speaker to demonstrate their majority.

Rewati Raman Bhandari, the Chief Whip of UML Koshi Province Parliamentary Party, stated that the UML would not stay silent if the alliance attains a majority in Koshi Province by involving the Speaker.

Bhandari emphasized that according to the Constitution and the law, the Speaker holds a position of higher authority than party members.

Therefore, they do not believe that the Speaker will engage in the government formation process by favoring a particular political party.