The Madhesh Provincial Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to remove Speaker Ramchandra Mandal, endorsing a motion accusing him of “conduct unbecoming of his office” with 76 votes—well above the two-thirds threshold of 72. No member voted against the motion while Mandal was absent.

The proposal had been registered on November 13 by 64 lawmakers from seven parties—Nepali Congress, Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Janamat Party, CPN (Maoist Centre), Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, CPN (Unified Socialist), and the Nagarik Unmukti Party. These parties had intensified protests, alleging that Mandal repeatedly acted to protect CPN-UML’s interests and obstructed their participation during critical constitutional proceedings.

A major point of contention was Mandal’s role in the controversial appointment of Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav. On November 10, Yadav was sworn in at a hotel in Bardibas under Article 168(3) of the Constitution.

President Ramchandra Paudel on the federal government’s recommendation sacked Province Head Sumitra Bhandari Subedi for ‘quietly’ administering the oath of office to Yadav at the hotel and appointed Surendra Labh Karn as the province head on November 10.

The seven parties insist that Article 168(2)—which requires the exploration of coalition formation—was bypassed despite their numerical strength, and they have already challenged the appointment at the Supreme Court.

They argue that Mandal cooperated in facilitating the process by selectively barring opposition leaders from using the rostrum and by ignoring the Business Advisory Committee’s recommendations, thereby preventing legitimate deliberations on government formation.

The conflict intensified when Mandal stripped five lawmakers—three from JSP Nepal and two from the Nagarik Unmukti Party—of their positions for alleged absence from ten consecutive meetings. Deputy Speaker Babita Raut Ishar later reversed the decision, citing video and photographic evidence showing their participation. The assembly secretariat, however, claimed Mandal’s decision had already been published in the gazette.

Four days before the dismissal vote, the seven-party alliance convened an outdoor assembly meeting after they said the official chamber had been padlocked and staff carrying the keys deliberately removed. Ishar presided over the session underscoring what the alliance described as a “constitutional blockade” executed by the Speaker.

Wednesday’s removal marks the second time Mandal has lost the Speakership. During the first provincial term, he was stripped of the role after declining to return to the Maoist Centre following the breakup of the left alliance.

With the Speakership now vacant, Madhesh Province faces the urgent task of normalising assembly operations while the constitutional dispute over Yadav’s appointment continues to dominate provincial politics.