Four ministers from the CPN-UML serving in the Gandaki provincial government resigned collectively on Wednesday, submitting their resignations to Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey.
A meeting of the UML Gandaki parliamentary party held on Wednesday decided to withdraw from the government and initiate efforts to form a new government under its own leadership.
A UML provincial lawmaker said that the party's parliamentary board had decided on Tuesday to leave the government, but because the ministers did not immediately resign, the parliamentary party met on Wednesday and made a formal decision.
The four UML ministers in the Gandaki government were Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management Govinda Bahadur Nepali, Minister for Industry and Tourism Yashoda Rimal, Minister for Agriculture Bhim Bahadur Karki, and Minister for Health Laxman Bahadur Pandey.
The UML decided to leave the Gandaki government after an agreement was reached between the UML and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) for power-sharing in all provinces.
The Gandaki government was formed under Chief Minister Pandey through an alliance between the Nepali Congress and UML.
Nepali Congress leaders claim that despite the UML’s exit, the move will not immediately affect the government's majority as the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Nepal Samajwadi Party (NSP), led by Baburam Bhattarai, continue to support the current government.
The 60-member Gandaki Provincial Assembly currently has 59 members, after independent lawmaker Rajeev Gurung, popularly known as Deepak Manange, was removed from office. Support of 30 lawmakers is required to form a government in the province.
No party has a majority in Gandaki. The Nepali Congress is the largest party in the provincial assembly with 27 seats, while the UML has 22.
To retain its majority, the Nepali Congress-led government needs the support of two RPP lawmakers and one NSP lawmaker. Neither party has withdrawn its support to the Pandey government so far.
For the UML to form a government, it would need the support of six NCP lawmakers, excluding the speaker, as well as the two RPP lawmakers. Although the UML and NCP have agreed to cooperate in government, the RPP has not decided to support the new alliance.
This makes it difficult for UML leader Khagaraj Adhikari to become Gandaki chief minister. The UML-NCP alliance alone does not have enough seats to form a government, while the RPP has maintained that it will not immediately support the new coalition.
Under an earlier agreement between the Nepali Congress and UML, Chief Minister Pandey was supposed to hand over power to UML leader Adhikari after July 16. However, the transfer did not take place following changes in the political equation at the federal level.
After UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and NCP Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal reached an agreement on July 25 to share power in provincial governments, efforts were made to install Adhikari as Gandaki chief minister. However, because RPP support is essential to form a government, establishing a new government under the revised political alignment does not currently appear straightforward.
Following the UML's exit from the government, Chief Minister Pandey is preparing to appoint Phanindra Devkota, the sole NSP lawmaker, as a minister, according to a Nepali Congress source.
With the UML's withdrawal from the Gandaki government, the impact of the UML-NCP cooperation forged at the center has begun to manifest in the provincial government as well. However, the RPP's role remains decisive in securing the necessary majority for any new power equation in Gandaki.
