The dispute between Nagarik Unmukti Party chair Ranjita Shrestha and her husband, Resham Lal Chaudhary, has caused a sharp division in the party and created a rift in the ruling coalition.

Two Unmukti Party provincial assembly members from Sudurpaschim have staked separate claims to the chief ministerial position, sowing discord among coalition partners, both at the federal and provincial levels.

Laxman Kishor Chaudhary of the Unmukti Party has staked claim for the chief ministerial position with the backing of the Nepali Congress, the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). But Kailash Chaudhary, the other lawmaker from the same party, is also vying for the same position with the support of the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre). Kailash is backed by party chair Ranjita while Laxman Kishor is supported by Resham. While Ranjita is in favour of working with the UML-Maoist alliance, Resham is against it.

The provincial issue created ripples in Kathmandu on Sunday after the Unified Socialist, a partner in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal government at the centre, decided to join hands with the Congress to form a government in the province by going against the UML-Maoist coalition.

With this decision, questions have been raised about the future of the five-party coalition at the centre.

Notably, leaders from the Unified Socialist, despite joining the ruling alliance, have been expressing their differences with Prime Minister Dahal and other coalition partners right from the day the prime minister broke the earlier coalition with the Nepali Congress and joined hands with the CPN-UML.

Prime Minister Dahal and Unified Socialist vice-chair Rajendra Pandey had engaged in heated arguments in Parliament when Dahal sought the vote of confidence on March 13. “Those who are not interested in staying in this alliance can leave,” Dahal had said after listening to Pandey’s complaint against him.

However, deputy general secretary of the UML, Prithvi Subba Gurung, claims that the Unified Socialist’s move in Sudurpaschim Province has nothing to do with the five-party ruling alliance at the centre. Subba further said there is still time to stop Unified Socialist lawmakers from voting for the Congress-supported candidate.

“It is our firm belief that the Unified Socialist’s decision in Sudurpaschim will not affect the five-party ruling alliance,” Gurung said. “We are told that Unified Socialist will vote for the Unmukti Party candidate that the ruling alliance supports.”

However, Unified Socialist leaders dismiss the UML leader’s claims. “Whatever they say, our party has already decided to support Laxman Kishor Chaudhary,” Unified Socialist spokesperson Jagannath Khatiwada told the Post.

Giriraj Mani Pokharel, a deputy general secretary of the Maoist Centre, also spoke of the potential problems of the Unified Socialist’s action in Sudurpaschim. “There should have been better coordination among the ruling parties; the events in Sudurpaschim are concerning,” Pokharel said. “If there are shortcomings among us, we must discuss and address them among ourselves.”

Unified Socialist vice-chair Rajendra Pandey, however, accused the UML and Maoist Centre leaders of breaching the understanding with them.

“On April 1 Prime Minister Dahal and UML chair Oli had promised to form a government in Sudurpaschim Province under our leadership, in lieu of our party supporting Maoist-led government in Bagmati Province,” Pandey said. “But they failed to abide by that promise. Therefore, our party decided to vote for the candidate supported by the Congress and we won't back down from our decision.”

Pandey also argued that they hadn’t committed in writing to support every decision made by Dahal and Oli. “The decisions we make for the Sudurpaschim Province and central government are independent. What we do in Sudurpaschim will have no impact on the five-party ruling alliance at the centre,” he argued.

Meanwhile, CPN-UML chair Oli has expressed his ire at Unified Socialist leaders for the party’s decision on Sudurpaschim government formation. Oli termed the Unified Socialist’s move as ‘against political norms’.

Speaking at the UML’s parliamentary party meeting on Monday, Oli said the proximity of the Unified Socialist to the main opposition Congress was gnawing at the foundation of the ruling coalition.

The Congress Parliamentary Party leader in Sudurpaschim, Kamal Bahadur Shah, had resigned on April 4 after failing to garner a majority in the provincial assembly. Following Shah's resignation, the Province Head called on parties in the assembly to show their majority to stake a claim on the new government.

Meanwhile, both the Unmukti Party leaders submitted their letters to the provincial head on Sunday, the submission deadline, signed by the leader of the supporting party's parliamentary leaders.

In a bid to control their lawmakers, Ranjita and Resham have resorted to various tactics. Rajita decided to expel assembly members Indira Giri and Ghanashyam Chaudhary from the party. Upon the recommendation of party chief Ranjita, the provincial Speaker had relieved Giri from her position.

However, the Supreme Court on Sunday stayed the decision to relieve Indira Giri.

The Province Head faces a tough choice as both the candidates have asserted the endorsement of seven Unmukti Party assembly members. Of the seven, party insiders claim that five are with Resham while two are on Ranjita’s side.

Laxman Kishor, a chief minister’s contestant from the Resham camp, claims that he will be appointed chief minister since he has all the legal documents necessary to claim the position. “I am a legal claimant to the position from our party and I am confident that I will be chief minister tomorrow,” Laxman Kishor said. “I will have the party’s full support.”

On the other hand, Kailash Chaudhary says whatever happens will be in the party’s favour.

In the 52-strong assembly, Congress is the largest party with 18 seats, while Unified Socialist has four, and RPP has one assembly member. While the Maoist Centre has 10 members excluding the Speaker, the UML has 10 members. The assembly has one independent member.

To obtain the majority needed to form a government, at least 27 members of the 53-member assembly must vote in favour of the candidate vying for the post of chief minister. The head of the province is expected to appoint the new chief minister on Tuesday.

In the House of Representatives, the CPN-UML has 76 seats (excluding Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire and Top Bahadur Raymajhi who has been suspended on corruption charge), the Maoist Centre has 32, Rastriya Swatantra Party has 20 (excluding Deputy Speaker Indira Rana), the Janata Samajbadi Party has 11 and the Unified Socialist has 10 seats.