Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Rajendra Singh Rawal is set to seek a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly on Wednesday.

Rawal was appointed to the post on 11 January with the support of 29 provincial assembly members.

Rawal is backed by the CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-UML, Nagarik Unmukti Party, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party. However, whether he will achieve the vote of confidence is uncertain since the Nagarik Unmukti Party has not decided on their vote.

“We have called a meeting of the party lawmakers to discuss our position after receiving the information on the floor test from the provincial assembly secretariat,” said Laxman Tharu, Nagarik Unmukti Party chief whip. “No decision has been taken on whether the party will vote in favour of or against the chief minister as of yet.”

In the 53-member provincial assembly, the Nagarik Unmukti Party has seven provincial assembly members.

However, CPN-UML, the party leading the provincial government, and its coalition partner Maoist Centre are certain that Nagarik Unmukti Party will vote in favour of the motion, said UML lawmaker Dharma Raj Pathak.

“Their [Nagarik Unmukti Party] main demand is to set Resham Chaudhary free,” said Pathak. “Fortunately the Supreme Court has ordered to present the defendants in Chaudhary’s case which could work in gaining the support of the party in our favour.”

As per the power-sharing deal reached at the centre, UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) will lead the provincial government on a rotation basis.