Provincial assembly members close to Dahal-Nepal faction file no-confidence motion against Bagmati chief minister

KATHMANDU, Dec 25: The provincial assembly members close to the Dahal-Nepal faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on Friday filed a no-confidence motion against chief minister (CM) of Bagmati Province, Dormani Poudel, who is close to the Oli-led faction.

A group of 45 provincial assembly members led by Shalik Ram Jamakattel filed the no-confidence motion against CM Poudel at the Provincial Assembly Secretariat in Hetauda this morning.

The rival faction of the NCP led by Dahal enjoys a majority in the provincial assembly of Bagmati. With the faction filing a no-confidence motion against CM Poudel, the latter has lost his majority in the provincial assembly.

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In the 110-member provincial assembly, the ruling party has 80 members. Of these 80 members, the Dahal-Nepal faction has the support of 46 while the Oli-led faction enjoys the support of 34 members. 

Likewise, Nepali Congress has 22, Bibeksheel Sajha Party has 3, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Workers' and Peasants Party have two lawmakers each. The provincial assembly has an independent lawmaker. 

The disgruntled assembly members have also demanded that the provincial assembly meeting be called as early as possible.

In their motion, the assembly members have proposed Asta Laxmi Shakya as the next chief minister. 

The provincial government in Bagmati, which is governed by the ruling NCP, has run into trouble, three days after the party suffered a split over the KP Oli-led government's decision to dissolve parliament and announce midterm elections on Sunday this week.

Three provincial ministers resign 

Meanwhile, three provincial ministers resigned from their posts on Friday.  Interior Affairs Minister Shalik Ram Jamakattel, Industry Minister Arun Nepal and Social Development Minister Yubaraj Dulal who are close to the Dahal-Nepal faction stepped down after they filed a vote of no-confidence against CM Poudel.

Kattel and Dulal are close to Pushpa Kamal Dahal while Nepal is close to Madhav Kumar Nepal of the rival faction of the NCP. The NCP leads six of the seven provincial governments in the country.