Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has written to Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden seeking vote of confidence for Chief Minister of Gandaki province Surendra Raj Pandey.
NC central member Pandey, who is the NC parliamentary party leader in Gandaki, was appointed chief minister of the province on May 29.
According to the Constitution, the chief minister of a province is required to take a vote of confidence in the provincial assembly within a month of their appointment.
In a letter sent to Lingden on Friday, Deuba has sought RPP’s vote of confidence to Chief Minister Pandey, pointing that it is a sensitive period of formulating the province’s policies and programs and budget and that the chief minister is taking a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly on June 10 under special circumstances.
NC is confident that the chief minister’s vote of confidence will end the stability seen in Gandaki province and create a new environment of trust and cooperation among parties, a source quoted Deuba as saying in the letter.
Deuba has also stated that Pandey was appointed Gandaki’s chief minister under special circumstances as per the Supreme Court’s mandamus.
Pandey had moved the apex court challenging the vote of confidence taken by previous chief minister Khagaraj Adhikari as unconstitutional.
Responding to Pandey’s petition, the Supreme Court ruled that UML parliamentary party leader Adhikari had failed to secure a vote of confidence.
The court issued a mandamus ordering Pandey to be appointed chief minister within 48 hours as the parliamentary party leader of the largest party in the provincial assembly according to Article 168 (3) of the Constitution.
Adhikari was appointed chief minister according to Article 168 (2) of the Constitution on April 7.
During the floor test held in the provincial assembly on May 5, Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital announced that chief minister Adhikari won the vote of confidence even though Adhikari secured 30 votes. Nepali Congress then moved the Supreme Court against Adhikari’s vote of confidence.
Support of 31 lawmakers is required to secure a majority in the 60-member Gandaki provincial assembly.
The 60-member Gandaki Provincial Assembly has 27 lawmakers from NC, 22 from UML, 8 including the speaker from Maoist Center, 2 from RPP and independent lawmaker Rajeev Gurung.
If the two lawmakers of RPP vote for Chief Minister Pandey, he would still need the support of two more lawmakers to secure a majority. It is said that the chief minister is preparing to take a vote of confidence with the support of Rajeev Gurung and Phanindra Devkota as well.
Devkota, who is close to Nepal Samajwadi Party (NSP) Chairman Baburam Bhattarai, contested the 2022 election on the CPN (Maoist Center) symbol. According to records, too, the Gandaki Provincial Assembly has one lawmaker from NSP. Devkota had earlier voted for previous chief minister Adhikari.
Meanwhile, RPP has said that it can support those parties in provinces that are not part of the ruling coalition in the center.
