Oppn parties fail to secure majority seats in parliament to form new govt, Oli likely to be reappointed as new PM

Published On: May 13, 2021 07:20 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, May 13: The main opposition party, Nepali Congress (NC), which earlier decided to form a new government under its leadership, has concluded that the formation of an alternative government is not possible.

A meeting of the party’s current and former office bearers’ held at the residence of President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Thursday afternoon concluded that the sharp division within the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) whether to support the NC-led government had made the formation of an alternative government impossible. The decision of the Mahanta Thakur and Rajendra Mahato-led faction of the JSP had made it difficult for the NC to garner requisite majority seats in parliament.

A Standing Committee meeting of the Maoist Center held at the party’s headquarter in Parisdanda on Thursday also concluded that the formation of an alternative government was not possible. The Maoist Center had decided to support NC to form a coalition government.

The NC had earlier planned to form a new government with the support of CPN (Maoist Center), JSP, and the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led faction of the UML. The plan failed to materialize as there was an agreement between Chairman K P Oli and rival faction leader Nepal within the UML and Upendra Yadav and Baburam Bhattarai-led faction of the JSP failed to secure a majority in the party.

With the rapidly unfolding development on Thursday, the unity of the ruling UML has been saved. Oli and Nepal had held a four-hour-long meeting to resolve their differences amid the threat of lawmakers close to the Nepal-led faction in the party to resign en masse if their demands are not met. The two leaders have agreed to form a 10-member task force to settle the differences seen in the party.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari had earlier given a three-day deadline that expires at 9 PM today to stake claim to form a new government to the opposition parties. Since there the opposition parties are now unable to garner the requisite majority seats in parliament, President Bhandari is likely to reappoint Oli as the new prime minister in his capacity as the leader of the single largest party in the parliament.