Nepal crisis: NCP's Prachanda-led faction files no-trust motion against Province 1 CM

Amid the political chaos in Nepal, National Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal-Madhav Kumar faction filed a no-confidence motion against Province 1 CM, Sher Dhan Rai, on December 27. According to ANI, the Province 1 parliament Secretariat said that the motion was registered at the assembly secretariat on Sunday morning after three provincial ministers resigned in response to the sacking of Minister Indra Bahadur Angbo a day earlier. Almost 37 lawmakers led by Angbo filed the motion and have proposed Bhim Acharya’s name to replace CM Rai. 

Province 1 is the second province to get embroiled in the ongoing intra-party feud within the NCP after Bagmati Province. Bagmati’s CM For Mani Paudel had said that his government would face the no-confidence motion filed by the dissenting side on Friday. It is worth noting that the ruling Nepal Communist Party has 67 members in the Provincial Assembly (PA) which has 93 members in total. In a bid to reach a majority, 47 lawmakers are required. 

Meanwhile, the latest development comes after Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Saturday had called a new session of the National Assembly from January 1. On Friday, in a major reshuffle, Oli inducted five new ministers in his cabinet. Seven ministers had resigned voicing disappointment at the PM’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives. 

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Nepal’s political crisis 

Last week, Nepal plunged into a political crisis after Oli got the President to dissolve Parliament, a controversial move amidst a prolonged tussle for power between him and former premier Prachanda' within the ruling dispensation. The Nepali leader was also under pressure to withdraw an ordinance related to the Constitutional Council Act that he had issued earlier and got endorsed by the president the same day. On December 20, Oli again called an emergency meeting with the Cabinet and announced that he was going to recommend the House dissolution to the parliament. 

The move came after the intra-party feud reached a climax in the ruling NCP which has been witnessing months-long tussle between two factions, one led by 68-year-old Oli and another led by 66-year-old ‘Prachanda’. The ruling party has now been virtually divided more than two years after it was formed following the merger of CPN-UML led by Oli and CPN-Maoist Centre led by Prachanda in May 2018. However, a formal split of the party is yet to be announced. Oli has defended his move to abruptly dissolve Parliament, saying he was forced to seek a fresh mandate through elections as the rift within the ruling Nepal Communist Party severely affected his government's functioning.

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