Janamat Party Chairperson Dr CK Raut.
KATHMANDU: Fresh signs of a political realignment have emerged in Madhesh Province with Janamat Party deciding to withdraw support extended to the government led by Krishna Prasad Yadav of the Nepali Congress (NC).
Janamat Chairperson CK Raut, who had earlier contrived to remove his own party’s chief minister Satish Kumar Singh, has now turned his attention toward his party’s Finance Minister in the Madhesh Province Government, Mahesh Prasad Yadav.
Raut mounted pressure on Singh to resign after the latter announced on social media that he was stepping down in protest against what he described as the federal government’s suppression of the Gen Z protests. Although Singh later clarified that the statement had been made emotionally and insisted he had not formally resigned, Raut used that same social media post as grounds to force him out.
Acting on Raut’s instructions, Janamat’s parliamentary party decided to withdraw support from Singh’s government. One of the key figures backing Raut at the time was Mahesh Prasad Yadav.
After losing his party’s support, Satish Kumar Singh, who had become chief minister on June 7, 2024, was eventually forced to resign on October 14, 2025. While tendering his resignation, Singh accused his own party of orchestrating a conspiracy against him.
After ousting its own chief minister, Janamat supported Jitendra Sonal of the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP) Nepal to form a new government. With support from Upendra Yadav-led JSP Nepal, Janamat Party, the Maoist Centre and CPN (Unified Socialist), Sonal was appointed chief minister on October 15. But his government collapsed within 22 days after two lawmakers from the Maoist Center refused to back him during the confidence vote process.
Maoist Centre provincial lawmakers Rahbar Ansari, who is now a federal lawmaker from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and Mala Karn said in the provincial assembly meeting called for the trust vote they would not support Sonal. Sonal eventually resigned on November 8.
Two days later, then Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari appointed Saroj Kumar Yadav, the parliamentary party leader of the CPN-UML—the largest party in the province assembly, as chief minister in a midnight ceremony at a hotel in Bardibas. He became the fifth chief minister of the province.
However, the Supreme Court later ordered him to seek a vote of confidence within 24 hours. Seeing no path to securing majority support, he announced his resignation from the very assembly meeting convened for the trust vote. The controversy surrounding his appointment eventually cost both Province Chief Bhandari and then Speaker Ramchandra Mandal their positions.
After Saroj Kumar’s exit, NC parliamentary party leader Krishna Prasad Yadav became the province’s sixth chief minister with support from all major parties except the UML. Janamat Party once again backed the new coalition government. Janamat Party sent Mahesh Prasad Yadav as the finance minister and Basant Kushwaha as minister for sports and social welfare in the new government. But even while two Janamat leaders remained part of the government, Raut began fresh efforts to reshape the power equation.
As the provincial budget session approached, Janamat withdrew its support from the Krishna Prasad Yadav-led government. However, the decision exposed deep divisions within the party itself.
On Monday night, Janamat Chief Whip Chandan Kumar Singh informed the Office of the Province Chief about the withdrawal of support. While the office was still consulting legal experts over the validity of the letter, Finance Minister Yadav sent another letter on Tuesday morning, signed as the parliamentary party leader, stating that support for the government remained intact.
Later that day, Janamat removed Mahesh Prasad from the post of parliamentary party leader and appointed Chandan Kumar Singh in his place. The decision was taken at a meeting attended by nine of the party’s 12 provincial lawmakers. Following that development, the Province Chief’s Office formally acknowledged on Wednesday that the Janamat Party had withdrawn support from the government.
Ironically, Mahesh Prasad, who once helped remove the party’s Chief Minister Singh from office, has now himself fallen into the political crosshairs of Raut. Raut’s latest move is expected not only to cost Mahesh Prasad his finance minister position but also to deepen political instability in Madhesh Province.
Despite Janamat’s withdrawal of support, the Krishna Prasad Yadav-led government has not yet lost its majority. He was appointed chief minister with the backing of 77 lawmakers. Even after Janamat’s 12 lawmakers pulled out, he still retains support from 65 members in the 107-member provincial assembly, where 54 seats are required for a majority.
Still, under Article 188(2) of the Constitution, the withdrawal of support obliges the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days.
Although Krishna Prasad Yadav currently appears to have enough support to survive, leaders say discussions have already begun over the possible formation of another new government, reportedly under the leadership of JSP Nepal.
Analysts warn that the latest political manoeuvring could seriously disrupt governance at a critical time, when the province is trying to spend the allocated budget for the current fiscal year and prepare the next year’s budget.
Political analyst Prof Bhogendra Jha says Raut appears determined to create repeated upheavals in the provincial government. “This is not the time to debate whether Krishna Prasad Yadav is right or wrong,” Jha said. “The province needs to spend the budget and prepare the next fiscal budget. This is not the moment to topple and form governments. By continuing this game, CK Raut is only turning himself into a villain.”
Jha argued that Raut’s repeated interventions are emboldening anti-federal forces and damaging public trust in federalism itself. “First, he pushed out the chief minister from his own party, and now he has sidelined Finance Minister Mahesh Prasad Yadav,” he said. “Such activities not only damage Madhesh but also weaken people’s faith in federalism.”
According to Jha, Janamat’s entry into provincial politics has brought chronic instability to the Madhesh government. “There has not been even a hint of political maturity in Raut,” he said. “Constantly making and breaking governments is not healthy politics. Before Janamat entered the scene, the first provincial government completed its full five-year term despite many disputes. But ever since Janamat emerged, the province has been trapped in instability.”
