KATHMANDU, JULY 28
In a recent development, factional rifts in the Nepali Congress (NC) have caused chaos in the Bagmati provincial government, resulting in a ripple effect on other provincial governments.
Last July, the largest political party in the Parliament, NC, and the second largest, CPN-UML, came together, promising political stability in the country under their seven-point agreement.
The NC-UML's goal was to 'form and operate the provincial government in accordance with the spirit and spirit of the national consensus government, as well as to accelerate development and construction work at the provincial and local levels in accordance with the desires of the people.'
According to the seven-point deal, the CPN-UML leads the provincial governments of Koshi, Lumbini, and Karnali, while the NC leads the provinces of Sudurpaschim, Bagmati, and Gandaki. The NC-CPN-UML have given away Madhes Province leadership to the Janamat Party.
However, the provincial government has recently become volatile as a result of internal turmoil in the NC, which had reached an agreement with the second largest party, CPN-UML, for 'political stability'. The primary reason for this is the founding factional group in the NC.
Indra Bahadur Baniya, a provincial assembly member who also serves as the president of the Bagmati Province Working Committee and is considered close to President Sher Bahadur Deuba, filed a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Bahadur Singh Lama in the party's parliamentary party on July 25. 21 of 37 provincial assembly members supported the no-confidence motion he filed on stripping Lama from the party's leadership.
The position of Chief Minister (CM) Lama is in jeopardy.
After 21 members of the Provincial Assembly filed a no-confidence vote against the party leader. After a no-confidence motion is filed against the party leader, the Chief Minister, Lama must demonstrate that he has the support of the majority of the members, according to the statute.
According to Article 18 of the Provincial Parliamentary Party Statute 2017, a party meeting must be called within 15 days of the no-confidence motion being filed.
Before Baniya filed a no-confidence motion against CM Lama at the provincial parliamentary party office, four NC ministers resigned. The Bagmati provincial government, which had 14 ministries, included eight NC ministers, including CM Lama.
On the same day they resigned, CM Lama dismissed Culture and Tourism Minister Bimal Thakuri, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Minister Madukumar Shrestha, Youth and Sports Minister Minkrishna Maharjan, and Internal Affairs and Law Minister Suraj Chandra Lamichhane.
The party's own legislators have accused Lama, a provincial assembly member from the Nepali Congress, which has been in power twice under different equations, of failing to perform effectively despite being given the opportunity to become finance minister and chief minister.
"We have also realised that our role has not been expanded under the leadership of Bahadur Singh Lama (Tamang). Furthermore, when he was Finance Minister, we were unable to prepare the budget to the fullest extent possible. As a result, we remind you that the NC has caused despair among party members in all 13 districts of Bagmati Province, as well as discontent among the general public with the provincial structure," the resolution states.
"Even when the government was formed under the leadership of the Nepali Congress, Bahadur Singh Lama (Tamang) failed to effectively implement the budget. The situation with revenue collection and expenditures is critical. The people of the province have received no tangible services. Furthermore, the victims of last year's incessant rains and floods have yet to receive relief. Reconstruction has not been prioritised."
The no-confidence motion claims that there has been no collaboration between the provincial parliamentary party and the provincial working committee. The no-confidence motion also claims that the party, parliamentary party, and government do not coordinate appointments.
According to the motion, despite numerous allegations against the republic, federalism, and the current constitution, CM Lama has taken no action, the party has only met three times in a year, and only one amendment bill has been passed.
As per the no-confidence motion, improving the NC's position is critical because its image among the people is deteriorating and public anger towards the province is growing as a result of the poor performance of the provincial government. Following that, the Baniya faction has demanded the replacement of CM Lama. The Bagmati Provincial Assembly has 110 members, 37 of whom are from the Nepali Congress. The no-confidence motion was registered with 18 out of 21 Provincial Assembly members present.
Three Provincial Assembly members signed, but they were not present at the party's office.
However, this is not the first time factionalism has erupted in NC. In a surprising turn of events, Kedar Karki was named Koshi chief minister in October 2023.
Eight Congress lawmakers, led by Karki, rebelled against the party's choice to appoint a Maoist lawmaker as chief minister. The largest party in the provincial assembly, the CPN-UML, supported Karki.
