Jitendra Prasad Sonar (Sonal), a leader of the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP), has been appointed as the chief minister of Madhesh province.
Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari appointed Sonal to the post of chief minister on Wednesday.
According to a press statement issued by Shatrudhan Yadav, acting secretary at the Office of the Province Chief, Sonal was appointed as chief minister under Article 168(2) of the Constitution, with the support of 56 provincial assembly members from five political parties — the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal, Janamat Party, CPN (Maoist Center), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) Nepal, and CPN (Unified Socialist).
Under this constitutional provision, if no single party has a clear majority in the provincial assembly, the province chief may appoint as chief minister a provincial assembly member who can command a majority with the support of two or more parties represented in the provincial assembly.
Sonal is a prominent leader who was active on the frontlines during the Madhesh Movement. In the 2022 provincial assembly election, he was elected from Bara Constituency No. 4 (B), securing 12,181 votes. He was also elected to the first provincial assembly from the same constituency and served as minister for physical infrastructure in the government led by former chief minister Lalbabu Raut.
Two claims had been submitted for the post of chief minister. One proposal supported Sonal, backed by five parties, while another supported Nepali Congress leader Krishna Prasad Yadav, backed by three parties.
Yadav’s claim was supported by 58 members – 23 from the UML, 22 from the Nepali Congress, and 13 from the Janamat Party. However, Mahesh Prasad Yadav, the Janamat parliamentary party leader, sent a letter to the Office of the Province Chief stating that the party officially supported Sonal for chief minister.
Meanwhile, outgoing Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh, a provincial assembly member of the Janamat Party, and former minister Tribhuvan Sah have already identified themselves with the Janaswaraj Party.
On Tuesday, Province Chief Bhandari accepted Chief Minister Singh’s resignation and called for the formation of a new government.
