Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said he will step down within a week.

A day after the first phase of voting for local level elections, PM Dahal told leaders of the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) on Monday that he was just about ready to hand over the government leadership [to the Nepali Congress] as one of the major tasks he had vowed to complete while in Singha Durbar has been completed.

A deal between Dahal’s party CPN (Maoist Centre) and the NC required the Dahal government to conduct local level elections and hand over the government leadership. However, following concerns from the agitating Madhes-based parties, now largely known as the RJPN after the merger of six of them, local level elections were staggered in two phases, first of which was held on Sunday and the second one is scheduled for June 14. 

Senior Maoist Centre leader Barshaman Pun said that PM Dahal would hand over the government leadership to NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba at the earliest and that the NC-led government would oversee the second phase of polls. During a recent headquarters meeting of the party also PM Dahal had said he would step down soon after the first phase of local elections. However, it is likely that the Dahal government will present the budget on May 29. 

PM Dahal on Monday also tried to allay the RJPN leaders’ concerns regarding the constitution amendment. The Madhes-based parties had supported the NC-Maoist Centre alliance during the prime ministerial election on August 3 following a promise that the Dahal government would amend the constitution in line with the Madhes-based parties’ demand. 

A revised constitution amendment bill is currently in Parliament.

According to RJPN leader Raj Kishor Yadav, PM Dahal and RJPN leaders were in agreement on approaching the Rastriya Prajatantra Party to seek the latter’s support in endorsing the constitution amendment bill.