JANAKPURDHAM, Dec 5: The Provincial Head of Madhesh has given political parties until 5 PM today to stake their claim for forming a new government. However, despite a full day of discussions on Thursday, the seven-party alliance has not reached an agreement on which party will lead the government.
After CPN-UML Chief Minister (CM) Saroj Kumar Yadav resigned, Provincial Head Surendra Labh Karna on Wednesday invited parties to submit their claims by Friday.
Within the seven-party alliance, both the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) have sought leadership of the new government. Madhesh-based parties prefer a government led by LSP’s Jitendra Sonal, but talks failed to reach consensus as the Nepali Congress refused to give up its claim, according to a lawmaker who attended Thursday’s meeting.
According to the lawmaker, UML’s parliamentary party leader has assured support to whichever party leads the government, signalling unity within the seven-party bloc. However, the alliance has yet to finalize the name of the new Chief Minister.
The seven parties will hold further discussions today to decide between Nepali Congress (NC) leader Krishna Prasad Yadav or LSP’s Jitendra Sonal. If no claim is submitted by 5 PM, UML—being the largest party—will once again retain the leadership.