Kathmandu, February 8

Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal are all set to form a coalition government in Province 2.

RJP-N leader Rajendra Mahato said there were no big issues between the FSF-N and the RJP-N, and the two parties would most probably reach a deal on power sharing after holding second round of talks anytime soon.

This means FSF-N Parliamentary Party leader in Province 2 Lalbabu Raut will be the chief minister of the province. Mahato said the RJP-N was ready to compromise with the FSF-N to form a coalition government under FSF-N. “The mandate of the people of Province 2 is for our two parties to form a coalition government and we are ready for the same,” he said.

Mahato said the FSF-N sought the post of chief minister, ministries of finance and home but the RJP-N offered one out of two ministries — home and finance — to the FSF-N. “We will sort out this issue in the next meeting,” he said.  He said the FSF-N had offered the post of provincial speaker to the RJP-N.

In the first formal meeting held recently, RJP-N leaders had demanded that the five-year tenure of the chief minister should be halved for the FSF-N and RJP-N. FSF-N Chair Upendra Yadav had rejected the proposal. Yadav told THT that he rejected the proposal mainly because if there were two chief ministers in five years, that would invite anomalies and instability.

“This is a perversion of politics. We have seen at the centre how leaders manipulate politics to become the prime minister. I am not in favour of repeating it in Province 2,” Yadav said.

RJP-N leader Manish Kumar Suman, a member of Province 2 assembly, said the two parties were exchanging views on the issues of power sharing but they had no issues that could  hold them from reaching a deal to share power in the province.

“We forged electoral alliance with a view to running our coalition government in Province 2. We got the mandate that we had expected and it is our duty to act as per the mandate,” Suman added. He said the two parties should try to reach a unification deal too. The FSF-N has 29 seats and the RJP-N 25 seats in the 107 member Province 2 assembly.