Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Bagmati Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya has begun efforts to save his government after losing a majority in the provincial assembly following the CPN-UML’s decision to withdraw support.
In a bid to strengthen his position, Baniya on Tuesday appointed Hamro Nepal Party (HNP) lawmaker Shailendra Man Bajracharya as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development.
The appointment, however, is unlikely to be enough to salvage his administration. The HNP holds only two seats in the 110-member provincial assembly, where a majority of 56 votes is needed to form or save the government. Baniya’s party, the Nepali Congress (NC), holds 37 seats in the provincial assembly. Even if NC secures the backing of every party outside the CPN-UML and the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), it would still fall short of the mark. Adding 13 lawmakers from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), three from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP), and two from the HNP brings Baniya’s total to just 55 members—one short of a majority.
Nevertheless, inducting the HNP into the cabinet carries strategic weight as it effectively prevents the CPN-UML and NCP, who together command 55 seats, from securing the HNP’s support to stake their own claim to form the next government. With the HNP now aligned with the ruling coalition, the UML–NCP alliance must win over either the 13-member RPP or the three-member NWPP to take power.
These shifting coalition dynamics have turned the Bagmati Province Assembly into a continuous game of political musical chairs following the hung assembly delivered by the 2022 provincial elections. The province has already seen three chief ministers, reflecting volatile central-level alliances of the NC, UML, and NCP.
Shalikram Jamkattel of the CPN (Maoist Centre), which has now become the NCP following its merger with the CPN (Unified Socialist), formed the first provincial government after the 2022 elections with support from the UML and CPN (Unified Socialist). The coalition held power for about a year and a half.
When a new NC–UML alliance was formed, Bahadur Singh Lama of the NC assumed office as Chief Minister. After roughly a year, Indra Bahadur Baniya took over as Chief Minister under the same NC–UML backing following an intense power struggle within the NC’s parliamentary party.
Now, the UML and NCP have announced a new alliance to form new governments in all seven provinces. As per the understanding between the two parties, the UML is slated to head Bagmati with NCP support. However, the process has hit a roadblock due to internal disputes within the UML over the selection of the chief minister and the HNP’s decision to side with incumbent Chief Minister Baniya.
