As the support of the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal has become a must for the government to pass ordinances from the National Assembly, the party has been dilly-dallying while leaders say no negotiations have taken place with the ruling parties of late.

The vote of the JSP-Nepal, which has three members in the upper house, is decisive for the passage of the six ordinances that the government introduced recently as it lacks a majority there. The two largest parties, which command nearly a two-thirds majority in the lower house, are one vote short of simple majority in the upper chamber.

Though Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba held talks with JSP-Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav last week, no further negotiations have taken place between them, leaders said.

Though opposition parties are also reaching out to the JSP-Nepal in a bid to convince them to stand against the ordinances, there have been no actual talks with them as well, according to JSP-Nepal leaders.

“We will make a decision, one like a ‘surgical strike’,” said Raj Kishor Yadav of the Madhesh-based party. There have been no talks with any side, he confirmed.

After the talks between the ruling parties and the JSP-Nepal did not reach a conclusion last week, the plan to present the six ordinances for deliberations and decision in both houses of the federal parliament was shelved at the last moment.

The government side was supposed to table the ordinances in the House meetings on Sunday but that has yet to be included in the agenda, said Raj Kishor Yadav. “As soon as the government tables the ordinances in the upper house, we will make a decision like a ‘surgical strike’ and end political speculation.”

The government side is yet to take the final decision on the matter. Bishnu Rimal, chief political adviser to Prime Minister Oli, said since replacement bills also have to be tabled and endorsed from the ongoing session of Parliament, the government will table those ordinances no later than Tuesday. As per the parliamentary process, these ordinances should be replaced by bills within two months of the commencement of the session and authenticated by the President.

The ruling parties have been trying to win over JSP-Nepal, as the Madhesh-based party gave its vote of trust to Oli during the floor test in July last year and it sits on the ruling side in Parliament.

“We are confident that Upendra ji will support our bid,” said Rimal. He, however, denied reports that the JSP-Nepal sought the post of chief minister of Madhesh Province as well as ministerial portfolios in the federal government in exchange for facilitating the ordinances’ passage from Parliament.

Both Rimal and Raj Kishor Yadav claimed that the JSP-Nepal had not presented any conditions to support the ruling parties' bid.

“The talks between the prime minister and Upendra ji were frank but there was no give and take,” Rimal claimed.

The Yadav-led JSP-Nepal, which is not in the Oli Cabinet, was undecided on whether to stand in favour of the ordinances until Saturday evening.

Yadav has shaky relations with CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said another JSP-Nepal leader. Thus the leader sees no possibility of talks with Dahal.

Earlier JSP-Nepal formed a task force led by Raj Kishor Yadav to study the contents of the six ordinances and suggest recommendations to the party leadership. The task force submitted its report on Thursday, a few hours before the Parliament meeting.

JSP-Nepal leaders have said they don’t oppose all six ordinances altogether and each would be evaluated for its own merit. The party has expressed some reservations on the ordinance related to land reforms.

Meanwhile, the CPN-UML has sought the Maoist Centre’s support for the passage of the ordinances. “Today I received a phone call from UML General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel seeking our support,” Maoist Deputy General Secretary Barshaman Pun said.

Addressing an event in Gulmi on Saturday, Pun said that the government seems worried about the ordinances’ possible rejection. “The government will face a moral question if the ordinances fail in Parliament,” said Pun, adding that he rejected Pokhrel’s request.

“We urge the government to withdraw the ordinances and table bills instead as per the [parliamentary] process,” said Pun, accusing the ruling coalition of trying to rule through ordinances.

“Until yesterday, they were boasting of their two-thirds majority in the House. They also want to set up a two-party system but now they have come to the point of seeking our support,” said Pun, a leader of the main opposition party.