Nepal: Nagarik Unmukti Party withdraws support from Oli-led Government, floor test likely

Kathmandu, July 5: The Nagarik Unmukti Party has decided to walk out of the ruling alliance led by Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, following the removal of its minister in a provincial government. As per the constitutional provision stated in Article 100 (2), the Prime Minister is now obliged to seek a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.

The party, which holds four seats in the House, took the decision during a parliamentary party meeting held on Saturday in Kathmandu in protest against the removal of one of its ministers by the Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province.

"The parliamentary committee meeting that convened today (Saturday) in Kathmandu has decided to retract support to the incumbent government, and we will stay in the opposition. Our minister on board the government will also resign tomorrow (Sunday)," Ranjeeta Shrestha, Chairperson of the party, told ANI over the phone.

The party currently has Arun Kumar Chaudhary serving as a state minister in the KP Sharma Oli-led government. On Friday, the party had already withdrawn its support from the Nepali Congress-led provincial government in Sudurpaschim.

Earlier this week, the Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province had sacked Rameshwor Chaudhary, Provincial Minister for Industry, Tourism and Forest. Kamal Bahadur Shah from the Nepali Congress is the incumbent Chief Minister in the Sudurpaschim Province.

"We also will make the formal announcement of our change in the coalition during the parliamentary procession of the House of Representatives," Chairperson Shrestha added further.

Following the walkout of Nagarik Unmukti Party, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has to test the floor, as per the constitutional provisions.

Article 100 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal said, "The Prime Minister shall table a motion for the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives if the party which the Prime Minister represents is divided or the party in the government withdraws its support."

However, there has been ongoing debate over the interpretation of this provision, with many contesting the provision, claiming the Prime Minister in the incumbent government has a comfortable majority, which does not trigger the provision in the prevailing situation.

The present coalition of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Nepali Congress will have a comfortable majority even after the exit of the Nagarik Unmukti Party. The support of 138 lawmakers is required to secure a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives, which the coalition has to continue to hold power.

Reader Comments

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Priyanka N

Interesting development! The timing is crucial with India-Nepal relations improving recently. Hope this doesn't affect ongoing infrastructure projects between our countries. The Terai region development is important for both nations.

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Amit K

Oli government seems to be facing one crisis after another. As someone from UP near Nepal border, I can say political instability there directly affects cross-border trade. Our local markets suffer when their politics gets messy.

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Shreya B

While the article mentions a comfortable majority, this kind of political musical chairs makes foreign investors nervous. Nepal has so much potential in tourism and hydropower - they need stable governance to attract investments.

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Varun X

The constitutional debate here is interesting. Even in India we've seen similar situations where technical majority is questioned. Maybe SAARC nations should have a common framework for such political scenarios?

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Meera T

Respectfully, Indian media should focus less on Nepal's internal politics and more on our own governance issues. We have enough coalition dramas in states like Bihar and Maharashtra to keep us occupied!

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Karan T

The Terai-Madhesh issue is at play here again. As someone with family in both India and Nepal, I hope they resolve these provincial tensions peacefully. Cultural ties between our people are stronger

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.