KATHMANDU, JUNE 11
Gandaki Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey received the trust vote today after Phanindra Devkota, a Nepal Samajbadi Party lawmaker who ran in the 2022 election under the CPN-MC symbol, crossed the floor to vote for Pandey.
According to Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital, 59 lawmakers attended Monday's provincial assembly meeting. Thirty-one lawmakers supported the motion, while 28 voted against it.
Twenty-seven Nepali Congress lawmakers, two Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) lawmakers, and independent lawmaker Rajeev Gurung all voted for Chief Minister Pandey.
The provincial assembly consists of 27 NC lawmakers, 22 UML lawmakers, 8 Maoist Centre lawmakers, including the speaker, 2 RPP lawmakers, and Rajeev Gurung, an independent lawmaker. A majority in the 60-member Gandaki provincial assembly requires the support of 31 lawmakers.
Pandey needed 31 legislators' support today, according to the Supreme Court's most recent ruling on May 29, which cleared the way for his appointment as Gandaki executive head. However, he only had 30 lawmakers, including 27 NC members, two RPP members, and one independent lawmaker.
Meanwhile, Phanindra Devkota, a Nepal Samajwadi Party (NSP) lawmaker who ran on the CPN-MC symbol and won the Gorkha-2 A Province Assembly constituency in 2022, crossed the floor to vote for Chief Minister Pandey. This eventually helped Pandey win a vote of confidence motion.
On the other hand, there has been some debate about whether or not action should be taken against lawmaker Phanindra. After Devkota crossed the floor, lawmakers from the CPN-UML and CPN-MC surrounded the well and chanted slogans for a while.
The MC had issued a whip instructing its members to vote against the trust vote. However, Devkota refused to obey the order. Speaking at the provincial assembly meeting, MC's provincial assembly leader, Hari Bahadur Chuman, argued that Devkota cannot disobey the whip because he is a lawmaker representing the party.
Devkota is close to NSP chairperson Baburam Bhattrai. The NSP contested the 2022 election under MC's symbol.
Advocates, on the other hand, claim that Devkota's decision to cross the floor is in the grey area under the Political Party Act, but it will have no impact on the Pandey government even if action is taken against him.
Senior Advocate Radheshayam Adhikari said, "Even if action is taken against Phanindra Devkota, who is basically from the Babu Ram Bhattarai led Nepal Samajwadi Party, it is not going to impact the current government as it will hold the majority. They can, however, take action against the lawmaker under the Political Party Act, as Devkota ran under the CPN-MC banner. He was supposed to obey the CPN-MC whip command."
Similarly, Yadunath Khanal, a senior advocate, stated, "Babhu Ram Bhattarai's Nepal Samajwadi Party is legally registered in Gandaki Province and can be found on its website. Because NSP has its own representation there, no action should be taken against him, and if action is taken, it will be invalid on legal grounds."
Pandey was sworn in on May 29 under Article 168(3) of the constitution, following the Supreme Court's ruling that Khagaraj Adhikari's CPN-UML vote of confidence was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court issued a mandamus order to appoint Pandey, the NC' provincial parliamentary party leader, as the new CM within 48 hours.
In accordance with a constitutional provision, the bench issued a mandamus order to appoint Pandey to the position. This provision states that in the event that the chief minister, who was appointed with the support of two or more parties, fails to win a trust vote within 30 days, the province head shall appoint the parliamentary party leader of the party with the highest number of members in the provincial assembly as the chief minister.
Pandey had filed a lawsuit on May 5, challenging the chief minister's confidence vote in the provincial assembly. Additionally, he had asked the SC to issue an order designating him as chief minister.
Pandey is serving as chief minister for the second time. Pandey assumed the position of chief minister of the province on April 27, 2023. He resigned a year later.
The Gandaki provincial government led by Pandey was left in the minority on March 6 when the CPN-MC withdrew its support following the shift in the coalition at centre. The CM was required by the constitution to obtain a vote of trust in less than 30 days following the withdrawal of support. However, Pandey opted to step down rather than address the assembly.
