Kathmandu, Aug, 17 : Bagmati Province Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya is scheduled to face a vote of confidence in the Provincial Assembly today (Monday), amid uncertainty over whether his government can secure the required majority.
Baniya was forced to seek the floor test after CPN-UML ministers resigned from his Cabinet and the party withdrew its support, leaving the government without a majority in the Provincial Assembly.
Under the constitutional provision, a chief minister who loses majority support must obtain a vote of confidence from the Provincial Assembly within 30 days. Baniya will be able to continue in office if he secures the required votes, while failure to do so will lead to the fall of his government.
The Bagmati Provincial Assembly has 104 members, with 53 votes required for a majority. The Nepali Congress has 36 lawmakers, while the Hamro Nepali Party, which is part of the government, has two seats. Together, the two parties command 38 votes.
The Congress therefore needs 15 additional votes to cross the majority threshold and has been holding discussions with parties other than the CPN-UML and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP).
The Congress is mainly looking toward the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which has 12 lawmakers, and the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP), which has three. Support from both parties would give the Congress-led government the 53 votes needed to win the confidence vote.
The RPP and NWPP have become crucial to the outcome of the floor test. Although both parties have indicated that they do not intend to join the government, neither has formally decided whether to support Baniya’s government.
