Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is seeking a vote of confidence for the fifth time in the House of Representatives on Friday. For PM Prachanda securing a vote of confidence will be challenging, as Nepali Congress has 88 members and CPN-UML has 79 members in the House of Representatives while CPN (Maoist Centre) has 32 members only.

Appointed as Prime Minister on December 25, 2022, Prime Minister Prachanda garnered a vote of confidence in the House for the fourth time on May 20 this year after he changed the coalition partners by replacing Nepali Congress with CPN-UML.

However, after Nepali Congress and CPN-UML on July 1 inked an agreement to form a national consensus government, initially under the leadership of UML chairman KP Sharma Oli, and CPN-UML and the Janata Samajwadi Party withdrew their support to the government, PM Prachanda decided to undergo a floor test once again.

Although both NC and UML, which enjoy a majority with 166 members when combined in the 275-member House of Representatives, urged PM Dahal to pave the way for the formation of a new government, but he denied and is prepared to seek a vote of confidence today. The opposition claims that by delaying PM Dahal is just buying time to cling longer to power and exploring constitutional opportunities to hold the top executive post. He has to get the support of 138 lawmakers to prove his majority, which looks impossible as of today. Nepali Congress and UML claim to have forged an alliance to bring a stable government.

While the PM is seeking a vote of confidence, the two big parties are doing homework to form a new government under CPN-UML’s Oli.  

By, Sweta Singh, Kathmandu