KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 18
Koshi Chief Minister Kedar Karki has won the trust vote with twothird majority ending the political crisis in Koshi.
Karki, was appointed chief minister of Koshi Province as per article 168 (5) of the Constitution. He was able to garner the vote in his favour from across the parties, including the opposition.
Deputy Speaker of Koshi Province Assembly Srijana Danuwar announced that 86 votes were cast in favour of CM Karki, while 5 voted against him.
Chief Minister Karki got more than two-third votes in the 93-member Province Assembly.
There were 91 MPs present during the vote today.
Thirty-nine MPs from UML, 29 from Congress, 13 from Maoist Centre, four from CPN (Unified Socialist) and one from JSP-N gave their vote of confidence to Chief Minister Karki.
Five members voted against Karki and one member from RPP was absent.
Karki is Koshi's third chief minister in the second Province Assembly and the fifth since last November polls. He was appointed last Saturday with the support of 39 UML and 8 rebel Congress MPs. However, the coalition party also supported him and voted in his favour today.
It is argued that CM Karki has got advantage from the derangement of the parties' representation in the Koshi Assembly.
UML supported Karki, who rebelled against the decisions of his own party and the coalition and finally became the fifth chief minister.
However, the coalition parties also favoured Karki today during floor test hoping that it would push the UML into the opposition once again. This helped Karki grab the CM's chair.
The UML, which supported the rebel Karki of the Congress, is all set to bar the entry of coalition parties into the Karki-led government. On the other hand, the coalition parties are trying to turn the Karki-led government in their favour.
According to political analyst Dr Vijay Mishra, Shekhar Koirala and KP Sharma Oli have played pivotal roles in protecting federalism.
"Only the party which is against the federal system has voted against Karki. Therefore, it is clear that all parties' consensus was reached to save the current system and a government should be formed incorporating them all."
The coalition parties have hoped that the Baluwatar agreement authorised by Congress leader Shekhar Koirala, who has become kingmaker in Koshi, Karki the CM, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, will be implemented in the province.
Subsequently, the alliance voted in Karki's favour with the purpose of throwing out the UML, which supported the rebels, despite being the major opposition.
After challenging the coalition and becoming the executive head of the province, CM Karki got the votes of all the parties, and the power politics of Koshi state has once again taken a dramatic turn.
Karki's decision to expand his cabinet is going to define the power struggle in Koshi by managing enormous pressure from his own party and UML which supported him to become CM in his first attempt.
Since being appointed chief minister, Karki has intensified discussions with the coalition parties in Koshi. Leaders participating in the discussion have commented that Chief Minister Karki has clarified he will be forming a government of consensus in Koshi.
UML has been creating pressure on CM Karki to exclude CPN-MC from the government, however, other parties of the coalition have been included.
On the contrary, Chief Minister Karki is preparing to include parties including CPN-MC in the government after clearing the floor test.
On October 14, Karki was appointed the eighth CM of Koshi since the 2017 election and fifth since November 2023 polls after verifying the signatures of 47- lawmakers who had supported him before governor Prashuram Khapung. He was sworn in on Sunday.
After the ruling alliance decided to support CPN-MC'S candidate Indra Bahadur Angbo. Karki who is close to the NC leader Shekhar Koirala camp revolted and staked claim with the support of 39 MPs of UML and 8 from NC.
Earlier, Hikmat Karki of UML and Uddhav Thapa from Nepali Congress both were appointed twice as the CM of Koshi. Unfortunately, they both failed to pass the floor test
A version of this article appears in the print on October 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
