Bagmati Province Chief Minister Bahadur Singh Lama on Wednesday appointed three ministers to his Cabinet, a day after losing his position as the Nepali Congress’ parliamentary party leader in the provincial assembly.

Lama inducted Govinda Lamsal, Maya Shrestha, and Geeta Gurung into the Cabinet. According to the Chief Minister’s Office, Lamsal has been assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, while Shrestha and Gurung’s portfolios have yet to be finalised.

The appointments come amid growing political turmoil within the ruling Nepali Congress in Bagmati. In recent days, five Congress ministers resigned from Lama’s Cabinet, accusing him of mismanagement, unilateral decision-making, and failing to uphold internal power-sharing agreements.

Four ministers—Suraj Chandra Lamichhane, Min Krishna Maharjan, Bimal Thakuri, and Madhu Kumar Shrestha—resigned on July 25. A fifth minister, Shyam Bahadur Khadka, stepped down on Tuesday. All five were among the 22 Congress lawmakers who signed a no-confidence motion against Lama, leading to his ouster as the party’s provincial parliamentary leader.

In a vote held on Tuesday, only 15 of the party’s 37 provincial lawmakers backed Lama, while 22 supported provincial Congress president Indra Bahadur Baniya, who has now taken over party leadership in the assembly. The internal rift has exposed a serious fracture within the Congress in Bagmati.

Despite the setback, Lama has refused to step down as chief minister. “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,” Lama told reporters following the vote.

The chief minister’s move to appoint new ministers is being seen as a strategic effort to consolidate his position and fill the vacuum left by the resignations. Observers say Lama is attempting to project administrative continuity while resisting pressure from his own party to step aside.

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

The rift has now turned into a contest for control of the provincial government. While Lama moves to reshuffle his Cabinet and assert his mandate, the Baniya-led faction insists that the majority of lawmakers now back them and that Lama’s continuation undermines democratic principles within the party.

Both Lama and Baniya are considered close to Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, making the split even more politically sensitive for the national leadership.

With the Congress holding 37 of the 110 seats in the provincial assembly, the internal division within the party has thrown the future of the Bagmati provincial government into uncertainty.