Province 1 Chief Minister (CM) Bhim Acharya will seek floor test on Sunday.
Speaker Pradeep Kumar Bhandari during the meeting of provincial assembly on Friday announced that discussion on the vote of confidence motion and voting on the motion will be held on Sunday.
CM Acharya, who was appointed to the post on August 26 after shifting camp to join UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, is now in minority after 10 CPN-UML lawmakers joined CPN (Unified Socialist). He looks set to lose the floor test if there are no dramatic changes in power balance in the assembly.
CM Acharya should have faced the floor test within 30 days after the provincial assembly was officially informed of split in ruling UML on September 10. But he only registered the motion before the deadline and will face the floor test 12 days after the deadline.
There are currently 92 lawmakers in the 93-strong assembly. UML now has only 41 lawmakers including speaker and a lawmaker who is currently absconding after being accused of crime. Acharya will have support of just 39 UML lawmakers. The opposition coalition now has comfortable majority with Nepali Congress having 21 lawmakers, CPN (Maoist Center) 15, Janata Samajwadi Party three and Federal Democratic Forum one to go with the 10 in the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led party. The coalition claims that it also has support of Sanghiya Loktantrik Manch lawmaker Bishnu Maya Tumbahangphe taking its strength to 50.
The opposition alliance is preparing to stake claim for the next government under parliamentary party leader of Unified Socialist in the province Rajendra Rai after invitation by the governor to form government as per Article 168(2) of the Constitution if Acharya fails the floor test.
