Province 2 Chief Minister Mohammad Lalbabu Raut has asserted that the ongoing third session of the Provincial Assembly will designate the name and capital of the province.

Receiving a report on Thursday from the Suggestion and Dialogue Commission, which was formed to study possible name and capital of the province, CM Raut said that the provincial government would soon register a proposal to resolve the issue of name and capital of the province. “The commission was formed to collect people’s will. The Cabinet will put forth the proposal by studying the suggestions and feedbacks mentioned in the report,” he said.

The provincial government formed the three-member commission under Haribanshi Jha, vice-chairman of the Provincial Policy Commission, with the mandate of collecting possible names of the province and places for its capital.  

In its 64-page report, the commission has suggested Madhes, Madhya-Madhes, Mithila, Bhojpura and Janaki as possible names of the province based on the suggestions collected from various quarters. Similarly, Janakpur, Birgunj, Simrangadh, Bardibas and Rajbiraj have been suggested for its capital. “We have submitted the report prioritising suggestions of the people. We collected people’s suggestions through discussions and interactions in all eight districts of Province 2,” said Jha.

The commission, formed on October 28 last year, had prepared 800 questionnaires to collect suggestions and feedbacks of the people. “There are divergent views regarding the name of the province and its capital. We have included all the suggestions with its percentage. The report will help the government resolve the issue of name and capital of the province,” he added.

The name of the province and its capital has been a long-standing issue in Province 2 as major political parties are sharply divided over the matter. The ruling parties—Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal (SSF-N) and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N)—are in favour of naming the province as Madhes while opposition parties Nepal Communist Party and Nepali Congress stick to their guns of naming the province as Mithila or Bhojpura.

As per the constitutional provision, the Provincial Assembly has the authority to name and designate capital by a two-third majority. The ruling Madhes-based parties do not have the required numerical strength to decide on the issue. The SSF-N and RJP-N have 30 and 25 members respectively in the 107-member Provincial Assembly. The NCP and the NC have 32 and 19 seats respectively.

Only three of the seven federal units have announced their name and capital city so far. The provincial assemblies of Province 4, 6 and 7 have named the provinces as Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim respectively.