As many as 28 members of the Provincial Assembly representing the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and Janata Samajbadi Party had registered the no-confidence motion against Gurung on April 15. Hours before the motion was registered Gurung had prorogued the assembly effective from midnight of April 14.

After registering the motion, the 28 members had demanded that Gandaki Province Chief Amik Sherchan call a special session of the assembly to discuss the motion.

“We had to bring this motion because our government supported the federal government that flouted the constitution which is against the spirit of the people of Gandaki,” said Krishna Chandra Nepali of the Nepali Congress, who has been proposed as the new chief minister, while tabling the motion. “I would like to appeal to all opposition parties including the Maoist Centre, Janata Samajbadi Party and Rastriya Janamorcha to vote in favour of the motion.”

The Maoist Centre withdrew its support to Gurung on April 15, minutes before the no-confidence motion was registered.

In the 60-member assembly, the UML has 27 members, Congress 15, Maoist Centre 12 (including Speaker), Rastriya Janamorcha 3, and the Janata Samajbadi Party has 2 members and the status of one independent member Rajib Gurung is still unclear. Rajib Gurung has been claiming that he is an independent member despite joining the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) in July, 2019.

If the motion is endorsed, Gurung will be the first casualty of the March 7 decision of the Supreme Court to revive the CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre in their pre-merger status.

The no-confidence motion has been signed by 15 members of the Nepali Congress; 11 of the Maoist Centre and two members of the Janata Samajbadi Party.

“Since the ruling party’s members have demanded that they should get time to speak, the voting on the motion could be delayed,” said Asha Khanal, a Provincial Assembly member of the Maoist Centre. “Most probably voting would take place on Tuesday.”