Nepali Congress (NC) has requested for stopping provincial assembly meeting in Province 1 on Sunday. The assembly is scheduled to hold voting on confidence motion registered by Chief Minister (CM) Bhim Acharya.
NC has requested postponement pointing that Prime Minister (PM) Sher Bahadur Deuba is inspecting the devastation wreaked by floods and landslides in Province 1 on Sunday. But Setopati understands that the party has demanded deferral of meeting to send a message about the party's claim for the post of CM in the province.
The ruling coalition at the center had reportedly agreed to give CM to CPN (Unified Socialist) in Province 1 and Bagmati and Rajendra Pandey of the party has already been proposed as the next Bagmati CM by the coalition.
But it now seems that NC is staking claim for CM in Province 1. NC Parliamentary party leader in the province Rajiv Koirala, who is close to Shekhar Koirala, said that the party is in favor of rotating CMs among the parties in the province.
NC and Unified Socialist have also apparently agreed to take turns for CM in Bagmati.
UML also submitted an application for deferral of provincial assembly meeting in Province 1 citing different party programs.
Speaker Pradeep Kumar Bhandari during the meeting of provincial assembly on Friday had 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.
