POKHARA: Hari Bahadur Chuman, the parliamentary party leader of CPN (Maoist Center) in Gandaki Province Assembly, has said it would be an injustice if he is denied the opportunity to lead the Gandaki provincial government yet again.
The Maoist Center has not got the opportunity to lead the provincial government, even though government leadership has changed four times after the 2017 polls. Chuman, who has mostly served as a cabinet minister, has taken the initiative to form a new government under his leadership this time.
The government of Surendra Raj Pandey has fallen into a minority after the Maoist Center withdrew its support from the provincial government. Maoist Center took the decision after Pandey removed its ministers from his cabinet following the formation of a new ruling alliance in the center.
Maoist Center’s Chuman said necessary consultations are being held for the formation of a new government. “But we will have to wait for the center’s direction,” he added.
The Maoist Center’s parliamentary committee has entrusted Chuman with the responsibility of holding talks for government formation.
Maoist Center’s partner in the new alliance, CPN-UML, however, is preparing to form the government under its leadership. UML’s parliamentary party leader and former chief minister Khagaraj Adhikari has returned to Pokhara after meeting his party chairman KP Sharma Oli in Kathmandu. UML sources say Oli has instructed Adhikari to solicit support at the provincial level, stating that he would ensure that Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) supports UML to form the next government in the province.
Parties must have 31 members to form a government in the 60-member Gandaki Province Assembly. Nepali Congress is the largest party in the provincial assembly with 27 seats, followed by UML with 22 seats, Maoist Center with seven (excluding Speaker), RPP with two seats, and CPN (Unified Socialist) with one seat. The new coalition of UML, Maoist Center, and Unified Socialist cannot form a government without the support of RPP.
RPP’s parliamentary party leader Pancha Ram Gurung said there is no immediate possibility of RPP joining the government.
The UML-Maoist alliance, however, is hopeful that RPP will help avoid a constitutional crisis by extending support to form a new government.
