Mahantha Thakur, one of the two chairs of the Janata Samajbadi Party, has refused to be part of the new government formation.

Issuing a statement on Monday midnight, Thakur said that his party’s priority is getting its agendas addressed rather than government formation or being part of any government.

The statement followed President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s call to parties to stake claim to a new government by Thursday 9pm after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had lost the confidence of the House on Monday evening.

Thakur’s statement also contradicts the view of Upendra Yadav, the other chair of the Janata Samajbadi, who is willing to support the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) to form a coalition government.

Thakur’s assertion makes the government formation process even trickier.

That the Janata Samajbadi Party, which has 32 votes, is vertically divided was also evident in the House during Monday's voting.

Fifteen lawmakers from the Thakur faction stayed neutral, as the leader had announced while addressing the House.

The Yadav faction’s 15 lawmakers, however, voted against Oli’s confidence motion.

The Congress and the Maoist Centre, which jointly have 110 seats, need 26 votes more to reach the magic number of 136 to form a coalition government.

Without the entire Janata Samajbadi support, the new government formation does not look likely. One of the ways the Congress and the Maoist Centre can form a coalition government, with the support of 15 lawmakers of the Yadav faction of the Janata Samajbadi, is if lawmakers from the Madhav Nepal-Jhala Nath Khanal faction resign.

The 28 Nepal-Khanal faction lawmakers were absent in Monday’s House meeting and they did not vote.

Thakur in his statement has said that it has been in public knowledge that for the last few weeks the party has been holding talks with the Oli government in order to address the demands of Madhesis, Janajatis, Adivasis, Tharus, Muslims, women and other marginalised communities.

The other demands include withdrawing cases and releasing party cadres and leaders, amendments to the constitution and making public a report prepared by a commission that studied oppression during the Madhes movement, according to the statement.

“So as a responsible political party, the Janata Samajbadi Party will continuously work and struggle for Madhesis, Janajatais, Adivasis, Tharus, Muslims, women and other marginalised communities,” said Thakur in the statement. “It is against our party's objective and the spirit of the Madhes movement to be involved in participating in any government or getting involved in forming any alternative government. Such activities will sure create instability and affect our efforts to get our demands fulfilled.”