Gandaki CM Adhikari to resign after addressing Province Assembly on April 22

Published On: April 15, 2023 11:30 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, April 15: The provincial assembly session has been called on the last day of the deadline for Gandaki Chief Minister Khagraj Adhikari to take a vote of confidence within one month

Chief Minister Adhikari is preparing to convene the provincial assembly session on April 22 and resign after addressing the assembly.

After the presidential election changed the balance of power at the center, the CPN-Maoist withdrew support from the CPN-UML government and the Minister of Physical Infrastructure Hari Bahadur Chuman and Minister of Tourism Resham Bahadur Jugjali resigned in Gandaki province as well. There is a constitutional obligation to take a vote of confidence within one month after the power partner party withdraws its support.

After the government fell into a minority on March 23, Surendra Raj Pandey, the leader of the main opposition party, held a press conference on March 24 and asked to pave the way

In response, CM Adhikari said that he would test himself in the parliament using the time facility provided by the constitution. However, the official has called for a parliament session on April 22 from Thursday's cabinet meeting.

This information has also reached the Secretariat of the Provincial Assembly through Principal Chief Prithviman Gurung. However, as Adhikari is not in a position to receive a vote of confidence, he has prepared to address the parliament and resign.

“Until then, we will also discuss with other parties to get a vote of confidence. Within 1-2 days, the meeting of the parliamentary party will also be held,” said Roshan Gahamgar, the spokesperson of the government and Minister of Law of Gandaki Province.

As the largest party in Gandaki province, Nepali Congress (NC) Parliamentary Party leader Pandey is preparing to become the Chief Minister with the support of Maoists. After Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal changed the alliance to become the Prime Minister, the opportunity of Surendra Raj Pandey, who ran in the elections with the agenda of the Chief Minister of Gandaki, was also lost. However, with Ram Chandra Paudel of NC being given the presidency, the power equation has changed again, and the door of opportunity for Pandey has also opened.

NC is the largest party with 27 MPs in Gandaki, which has 60 provincial assembly members. In collaboration with the Maoist, which has eight members, it will easily get a majority to form the government.

Since Krishna Dhital from Maoist is the Speaker of the House, if NC-Maoist join forces, there will be 34 people who can easily form the government. If Rajiv Gurung (Deepak Manange), who won the unanimous election independently from Manang, also joins, the power coalition will remain 35 members.

At present, there is a minority government led by Khagraj with 27 members of UML and two members of Rastriya Prajatantra Party. Even if the government is in the minority, only Adhikari will leave after remaining as Chief Minister for one month.

Chief Minister Adhikari is now rapidly inaugurating projects and are also making efforts to transfer funds in order to include the budget in their plans.