Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah is planning to take a floor test at the provincial assembly on Sunday.

A meeting of the provincial assembly has been called for 1pm, but the parties in the coalition at still at odds on power-sharing.

Nepali Congress provincial assembly leader Shah was appointed Sudurpaschim chief minister on February 9. Province chief Dev Raj Joshi had appointed Shah to the post as per Article 168(3) of the constitution after CPN-UML’s Rajendra Singh Rawal lost the position of chief minister after the trust motion.

Shah needs to win the confidence of the provincial assembly within 30 days of the appointment.

At least 27 votes are needed to secure a majority. In the 53-member assembly, Nepali Congress has 19 members, the Maoist Centre 10, the Nagarik Unmukti Party seven and the Unified Socialist three members. One independent member has also supported the government.

Congress assembly member Megh Raj Khadka said Maoist Centre provincial assembly leader Khag Raj Bhatta, while meeting the chief minister on Saturday evening, stressed hammering out a power-sharing deal before the floor test.

Similarly, Congress members said the Nagarik Unmukti Party has demanded the share of two ministers, two state ministers and the chairmanship of two provincial assembly committees for voting in favour of the trust motion.