In a major political twist in Bagmati Province, Chief Minister Bahadur Singh Lama Tamang has lost his position as leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party after a majority of party lawmakers backed a no-confidence motion against him.

In a vote held on Tuesday, only 15 of the party’s 37 provincial lawmakers supported Lama, while 22 backed Indra Bahadur Baniya, the Congress Bagmati Province president, handing Baniya a clear majority and effectively removing Lama from the party's leadership in the provincial assembly.

The internal revolt comes amid growing dissatisfaction within the Congress camp over Lama’s leadership style and performance. In recent days, several ministers from his own government have resigned in protest, accusing him of mismanagement and disregarding prior power-sharing agreements.

On Monday, Minister for Drinking Water, Energy and Irrigation, Shyam Bahadur Khadka, tendered his resignation. This followed the resignations of four ministers on 25 July—Suraj Chandra Lamichhane, Min Krishna Maharjan, Bimal Thakuri, and Madhu Kumar Shrestha—all of whom had signed the no-confidence motion against Lama.

Despite losing the party leadership, Chief Minister Lama has refused to step down. Speaking to the media following the vote, Lama said, “Losing the post of parliamentary party leader does not mean I must resign as chief minister. The government and the parliamentary party are two separate entities.”

He added that the process to elect a new party leader would begin, but insisted that there was no constitutional obligation for him to vacate the chief ministerial post.

Nonetheless, pressure is mounting on Lama to resign, with 22 lawmakers—led by Baniya—pushing for a change in leadership. Both Lama and Baniya are known to be close allies of Nepali Congress national president Sher Bahadur Deuba, making the intra-party split particularly significant.

The provincial Congress executive committee held an emergency meeting in Hetauda on Tuesday, forming an election committee to oversee the selection of a new parliamentary party leader. The committee is headed by provincial joint general secretary Hari Sharan Shrestha, with fellow joint general secretaries Rishi Ram Ghimire and Jeevan Dangol as members.

The vote has exposed a deepening rift within the party. Baniya’s supporters include lawmakers such as Shyam Bahadur Khadka, Pukar Maharjan, and Binu Rayamajhi Poudel, while Lama was backed by Kundanraj Kafle, Ramesh Kumar Mahat and others.

Both camps are now vying for control of the provincial government. While Lama seeks to reshuffle ministries to consolidate his position, Baniya and his allies argue that the mandate lies firmly with them.

With the Congress holding 37 seats in the 110-member provincial assembly—and its internal divisions now laid bare—the political fate of the Bagmati government hangs in the balance.