Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Preparations are underway to form a new government in Madhesh Province under the leadership of Jitendra Sonal, vice-chairperson of the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) Nepal.
The place became vacant after Satish Kumar Singh of Janamat Party tendered his resignation before taking the floor test on Tuesday.
The new coalition will include parties representing Madhesh as well as the CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist).
Earlier on Wednesday, Sonal staked his claim to form a new government, submitting signatures of 57 provincial assembly members to Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari.
Sonal has received support from the Maoist Center, Janamat Party, Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal and the Unified Socialist Party.
Earlier, the Nepali Congress (NC), the CPN-UML and Janamat Party had attempted to form a government. These parties had even staked a claim to form a government even before Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh submitted his resignation. However, their talks ended inconclusively.
A majority of 54 seats is required to form a government in the 107-member Madhesh Province Assembly.
The JSP Nepal holds 19 seats in the province assembly, while LSP Nepal has 13, Maoist Center has 9 and and Unified Socialist has 7.
According to LSP Nepal General Secretary Manish Mishra, the new alliance was formed after the NC and UML deviated from a prior understanding. “When the NC and UML formed the federal government, there was an agreement that JSP Nepal would lead the government in Madhesh. But as that understanding was ignored, we decided to move forward with a new coalition,” Mishra added.
