By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost a parliamentary majority on Wednesday after a key ally in his multi-party coalition withdrew support, setting the stage for the formation of the new government, local media reported.
The withdrawal of support by the liberal Communist Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) party, the biggest group supporting Dahal’s government since March, pushed his government into a minority in parliament four months after the coalition was formed.
The UML's chief whip Mahesh Bartaula said its eight ministers in Dahal's Cabinet would resign immediately, local English daily The Kathmandu Post reported.
“The UML withdrew its support to the government to pave the way for the formation of the national consensus government. The prime minister will be informed of the decision later today,” Bartaula was quoted as saying.
Dahal had secured 157 votes in the 275-strong House of Representatives when he sought a trust vote on May 20. Of them, the CPN-UML has 77 members while the prime minister’s CPN (Maoist Centre), which is the third-largest in the House, has only 32 seats.
The prime minister now needs to secure a vote of confidence from the parliament within 30 days to stay in power and is unlikely to win the trust vote, given the current political equation.
Earlier on Tuesday, the UML had formally requested Prime Minister Dahal to tender his resignation by Wednesday evening.
- New alignments
The UML and the opposition Nepali Congress Party, the two largest groups in parliament, on Monday agreed to form a new government.
As per the understanding, UML chief K.P. Sharma Oli, 72, and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, 78, would share the prime minister's post until the next election in November 2027.
Prime Minister Dahal, however, has expressed reluctance to resign immediately. The office-bearers’ meeting of the CPN (Maoist Centre) held in Baluwatar on Tuesday morning decided that the prime minister will not tender his resignation but instead face a trust vote in the Parliament.
Nepal, sandwiched between Asian heavyweights China and India, has long been beset with political crises with 13 governments since 2008 when the Himalayan country became a republic and a 239-year monarchy was abolished.