Triggered by the March 4 political realliance in Kathmandu, the struggle to retain and change governments in the provinces has become intense in the last couple of days.

On Wednesday, chief ministers of Gandaki and Karnali put in papers while the situation in Sudurpaschim Province has heated up due to infighting in the Nagarik Unmukti Party—between party chair Ranjita Shrestha and her husband Reshamlal Chaudhary, the party founder.

In Gandaki, Province Head Dilli Raj Bhatta called on the political parties represented in the assembly to show a majority to claim the chief minister’s post and form the provincial government within seven days.

The office of the Province Head, through a notice issued by Chandi Prasad Aryal, spokesperson for the office, on Wednesday called on the political parties to present a majority in favour of an assembly member. The claimant needs the support of two or more parties represented in the provincial legislature to be appointed the chief minister by 3pm on April 9, as per Article 168 (2) of the constitution of Nepal.

Earlier on Wednesday, Gandaki Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey of Nepali Congress submitted his resignation to Bhatta as per Article 169 (1).

After the formation of a new four-party coalition in Kathmandu last month, the CPN (Maoist) withdrew its support to the Gandaki provincial government led by Nepali Congress leader Pandey on March 6, leaving the government in minority. As per the constitutional provision, the chief minister needed to secure a confidence vote within 30 days after the support was withdrawn. But Pandey chose to resign instead of facing the Assembly.

To form a government in Gandaki Province, any party must have the support of at least 31 members in the 60-strong assembly. The Congress has 27 members, the UML 22, the Maoist Centre has seven (except Speaker Krishna Dhital) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has two members. The assembly also has an independent member.

The RPP has a key role in deciding the majority in the assembly. In the changed equation, the UML and the Maoist Centre combined cannot form the new government without other parties’ support. As the RPP’s position has become crucial for the UML-Maoist alliance, the party on Wednesday decided not to support the alliance in government formation.

In Karnali, Chief Minister Rajkumar Sharma resigned the position on Wednesday. Sharma announced his decision to step down during a meeting of the provincial assembly.

As per the power-sharing deal reached among the coalition partners in the centre, the UML provincial assembly leader will lead the Karnali government.

Sharma, along with other provincial members of the Maoist Centre, had refused to implement the centre’s decision. Chief Minister Sharma had planned to seek the vote of confidence in the assembly on Wednesday and the assembly secretariat had made all the arrangements for the same. He, however, backtracked on his plan after an instruction from Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who also chairs the Maoist Centre.

While addressing the assembly meeting, Sharma said he had planned to seek the vote of confidence from the same meeting but he decided to leave the post in view of the changed political situation.

In the Karnali provincial assembly, the Congress has 14 members, Maoist Centre 13 and the UML 10 while the RPP and the CPN (Unified Socialist) have one each. There is one independent member in the 40-strong Karnali assembly.

In Sudurpaschim, a longstanding dispute between the Nagarik Unmukti Party Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha and her husband Reshamlal Chaudhary on whether to support the incumbent provincial government led by Kamal Bahadur Shah of the Congress has reached its climax. Shrestha on Wednesday asked the provincial assembly secretariat to suspend Indira Giri as an assembly member. The party’s central member Ramlal Dagaura Tharu, the mayor of Tikapur Municipality who is considered close to Shrestha, registered the letter at the assembly secretariat in Dhangadhi amid tight security.

Of the seven Nagarik Unmukti provincial members, five are close to party leader Reshamlal Chaudhary, who is in favour of supporting the incumbent Congress-led government. The two members considered close to party Chairperson Shrestha are against Shah’s government. The Nagarik Unmukti Party, established in 2022, has made a mark in politics following the elections held later that year.

In the 53-member Sudurpaschim assembly, the Congress has 19 members, the Maoist Centre has 10, the UML 9, the Nagarik Unmukti Party 7, the Unified Socialist has three, and the RPP has one, besides an independent lawmaker. Any party claiming the government’s leadership must secure the support of at least 27 assembly members.