Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called a meeting of the ruling coalition to discuss the formation of the government in Koshi Province.
A member of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said the coalition leaders will take an update on the latest political developments in Koshi Province and try to reach a consensus among the ruling coalition partners to make a claim for government formation.
Province Chief Parshuram Khapung on Sunday invited political parties to submit their claims for government formation as per Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal by July 6. The Koshi Province Government, led by Hikmat Bahadur Karki, failed after Karki failed the floor test on Friday.
Political parties are facing challenges in making a claim for the government formation as both the ruling and opposition parties have 46 members in the province. The UML has 40 assembly members in the Koshi Province Assembly, while its ally, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), has six members.
Similarly, the Nepali Congress (NC) has 29 seats, the Maoist Center has 13 (including the Speaker), the CPN (Unified Socialist) has four, and the JSP has one, or a combined 46 seats. Unless the ruling coalition secures the support of the RPP, it will not be able to reach the required majority of 47 seats to make a claim for government formation in the 93-member Koshi Province Assembly.
Furthermore, the formation of a coalition in Koshi Province will not be easy as both the NC and Maoist Center have expressed their intent to lead the government first.
