Bagmati Province seems likely to be the first casualty in provinces of the split in the Nepal Communist Party after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.
As many as 45 members of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly on Friday registered a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Dormani Poudel, one of Oli’s close allies.
Internal Affairs Minister Shalikram Jamarkattel proposed the no-confidence motion, which was seconded by Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Arun Prasad Nepal.
Jamarkattel is a former Maoist leader close to Pushpa Kamal Dahal while Nepal is close to Madhav Nepal.
“We have proposed Ashta Laxmi Shakya as the next chief minister,” Ratna Dhakal, a member of the assembly and a central committee member, told the Post.
Also a Standing Committee member Shakya, a former CPN-UML leader, is close to Madhav Nepal.
In the 110-member Provincial Assembly in Bagmati, the Nepal Communst Party has 80 seats. But after the split, 46 assembly members are with the Dahal-Nepal faction while 36 are with the Oli faction.
As per Article 188 (4) of the constitution, one-fourth of the total number of the members of the assembly may table in writing a motion of no-confidence against the chief minister.
Chief minister Dormani Poudel said he has just heard about the motion registered in Hetauda.
“I just heard about it as I’m here in Kathmandu,” Poudel told the Post. “I am going to consult with leaders including Subash Nembang about the process as I don’t know much about it.”
Three of the seven ministers of Bagmati Provincial government have resigned including Internal Affairs and Law Minister Shalikram Jamarkattel, Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Arun Prasad Nepal and Minister for Social Development Yubaraj Dulal as they were involved in the no-confidence motion.
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