Chief Minister Hikmat Karki will continue as the head of the Koshi provincial government, on the condition that he “will step down from office whenever asked to do so” by CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.
According to Ghanashyam Khatiwada, chairman of the UML Koshi province committee, the two leaders reached such an agreement during a discussion held on Wednesday at Oli's residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur.
"An agreement has been reached to to continue the government under Hikmatji's leadership for now, with the understanding that he will step down whenever the party chairman asks him to," said Khatiwada, who participated in the Gundu discussion. "The chief minister himself has said that he will continue for now and will obey whenever the chairman tells him [to step down]."
Chief Minister Karki had so far resisted pressure from Chairman Oli to resign from the post, maintaining a firm stance that he “will step down only if the party committee decides so.”
However, during Wednesday's discussion, Karki gave his word that if he is allowed to continue for now, he would vacate the post whenever asked by the chairman, according to Khatiwada.
Chairman Oli is trying to replace Karki with Til Kumar Menyangbo as the chief minister.
When asked when "whenever the chairman wants" might be, Khatiwada replied, "That could be at any time. It could be tomorrow itself, or any other day."
Regarding Wednesday's meeting in Gundu, Chief Minister Karki said that everything would be finalized by Thursday.
Karki, who had been rejecting pressure from Chairman Oli to resign, has been in Kathmandu since Tuesday to hold discussions with top leaders, including Oli.
"I had a good conversation with the chairman," Karki said briefly after returning from his meeting with Oli on Wednesday. "Everything will be finalized by tomorrow."
Chief Minister Karki had previously maintained that he would resign immediately if the party committee made a formal decision, but not based on an individual's verbal order. He reiterated that position during Tuesday’s meeting with Oli.
When asked if he reiterated that same stance during Wednesday's meeting, Karki declined to comment.
