Phanindra Devkota, a minister in Gandaki Province, has been relieved of his position as a member of the Gandaki Provincial Assembly.

Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital removed him as a lawmaker based on the recommendation of the CPN (Maoist Centre), which decided to take action claiming that he had defied the party whip.

On Monday, Devkota, a leader of the Nepal Samajbadi Party who fought the 2022 election under the Maoist Centre’s symbol, had voted in favour of Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey of the Nepali Congress. Devkota’s vote was a must for Pandey to win the Assembly’s trust.

The Maoist Centre parliamentary party had issued a whip for its members to vote against Pandey. Devkota, however, defied the whip, arguing that the Maoist Centre’s instruction did not apply to him because he comes from a different party.

“The party had recommended that the Speaker take action against Devkota after he flouted the whip. He has been relieved as a member of the provincial assembly,” Hari Bahadur Chuman, provincial assembly leader of the Maoist Centre, told the Post. “There is no excuse for the lawmakers to defy the party whip.”

The Maoist Centre took action based on the recommendation of Shushila Simkhada, the party’s chief whip. Devkota, however, says he is not bound to follow the Maoist Centre’s whip.

He has announced his plan to move the Supreme Court against the decision to sack him.

Devkota was elected to the provincial assembly from the Gorkha 2(a) constituency. Pandey was also elected from the same district.

Talking to the Post on Sunday, Devkota claimed that he would follow the decision of his party, the Nepal Samajbadi Party, not the Maoist Centre. “I contested the election under the Maoist Centre’s symbol but as a candidate of the Nepal Samajbadi Party.

The Maoist Centre cannot impose a whip on me,” he had told the Post. Issuing a statement the same day, the Baburam Bhattarai-led Nepal Samajbadi Party also claimed that Devkota was not compelled to follow the Maoist Centre’s directive.

Legal experts say Devkota legally belongs to the parliamentary party of the Maoist Centre. "He has to follow the Maoist Centre's whip. If he acts against its whip, he is liable for action," advocate Mohan Lal Acharya told the Post. “Contesting the election with one party’s symbol and claiming to be a leader of the other party is unethical."

Pandey on Tuesday appointed Devkota the provincial minister for energy, water resources, and drinking water, in return for his support. Despite being sacked as lawmaker, Devkota can still remain a minister for six months.

With 27 members, the Congress is the largest party in the provincial assembly. However, it needed four more votes to attain the magic number 31 in the 60-strong assembly.

The party was short of a vote after getting the support of two Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) members and the independent Rajiv Gurung, aka Manange. Devkota's support was a must. He agreed to vote for the trust motion in exchange for a ministerial berth.

In 2023, Pandey unseated Khaga Raj Adhikari, who had formed the government on December 25, 2022. But the changes in the ruling coalition in Kathmandu on March 4 this year compelled him to resign, making way for Adhikari.

The CPN-UML leader had become the chief minister presenting the support of 31 members—22 from his party, eight from the CPN (Maoist Centre) and an independent member. The eight members from the Maoist Centre included Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital.

Objecting to the Speaker’s support for the chief minster, a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court. On April 10, the top court directed the Adhikari-led government to refrain from taking any decisions of lasting consequence until the final verdict.

After a floor test, Dhital declared that Adhikari had secured the Assembly’s confidence for just 30 votes in his favour. This was challenged in court, which invalidated Adhikari’s Cabinet formation process.

Pandey was sworn in on May 29 as per Article 168 (3) of the constitution, after the Supreme Court declared the vote of confidence given to Adhikari unconstitutional. The top court issued a mandamus order to appoint Pandey, the provincial party leader of the Congress.

With Devkota ousted, the size of the assembly has been reduced to 59. Now the support of 30 members is enough to prove a majority. Pandey has that number.