DHANGADI, MARCH 9
The future of the government in Sudurpaschim Province seems uncertain in the wake of the landmark recent verdict of the Supreme Court.
After the Supreme Court ruling revoked the unification between then CPN- UML and Maoist Centre, essentially reverting the present ruling and infighting-plagued Nepal Communist Party (NCP) to the pre-unification state, the provincial government under the leadership of former CPN-Maoist Centre, now the second largest party after the CPN-UML, is at risk.
With the latest development following the court's verdict, Chief Minister Trilochan Bhatta, who is a leader from the erstwhile CPN- Maoist Centre, has been reduced to a minority leader now.
This signals a possibility that he may have to face a no-confidence motion, or the CPN-UML may form a new government.
The 53-member Provincial Assembly has 25 PA members representing CPN-UML, making the party the largest party in the province. Maoist Centre has 14 PA members in the Provincial Assembly. Parties such as Nepali Congress and Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal have 12 and two PA members respectively.
When asked about the possibility of a change of guard, Internal Affairs and Law Minister Prakash Bahadur Shah, also the government Spokesperson and CPN-UML parliamentary party leader, ruled out such a possibility for now.
"There is no possibility of an immediate change in the government; its fate will now be determined by national politics," he said.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 10, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
