Chief Minister of Bagmati Province Indra Bahadur Baniya resigned on Monday after failing to secure enough support to survive a confidence vote in the provincial assembly.

Baniya announced his resignation while addressing the assembly before the confidence vote began. The assembly did not proceed to the voting process after his announcement.

He briefed the assembly on his 13-month tenure before submitting his resignation to the provincial head.

The UML withdrew its support for Baniya’s government on July 22, leaving the Nepali Congress leader without a majority in the 104-member provincial assembly. He had been trying to secure support from the Hamro Nepali Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, but failed to win the numbers needed to retain power.

Baniya had written to the provincial assembly secretariat on Friday to make arrangements for the confidence vote.

The assembly has 36 Nepali Congress lawmakers, 26 from the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), 25 from the UML, 12 from the RPP, three from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party and two from the Hamro Nepali Party. A government needs the support of at least 53 lawmakers to command a majority.

Baniya, who became the sixth chief minister of Bagmati in August last year, now leaves the way open for the formation of a new provincial government.

The UML and NCP are preparing to form a coalition. The UML has called a parliamentary party meeting for 11am on Tuesday, when it is expected to choose former health minister Kiran Thapa as its parliamentary party leader.

UML chair KP Sharma Oli had earlier instructed the party to remove JN Thapaliya as parliamentary party leader. Eighteen UML lawmakers have also registered a no-confidence motion against Thapaliya with the party secretariat.

The UML plans to finalise its parliamentary party leader before formally staking a claim to form the next provincial government.