Dec 30, Kathmandu: Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) which is decisive for the formation of a new government in Bagmati Province has claimed the Chief Ministership.
The RPP has claimed that the coalition led by the UML is decisive in forming the government in the state. A new twist has come in the formation of the government of Bagmati province with the RPP demanding the cancellation of the provincial structure.
RPP has been demanding that federalism should be abolished saying that provincial structure is not necessary. During the first term of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly, the RPP which has repeatedly raised the demand for the cancellation of the provincial structure from the rostrum of the Parliament has claimed that the Chief Minister has decided to form the government in the province.
The party that has been demanding the abolition of the provincial structure has claimed to be under the leadership of the provincial government, and questions have been raised about the policy of the party itself. RPP Parliamentary Party leader Uddhav Thapa said that it is necessary to lead the government to show the status of RPP. He led the provincial government and claimed that it would give good governance to the people and abolish federalism in five years.
He also made it clear that they will not support other parties to form the government in the state if they do not get a chief minister. "The RPP does not allow others to take advantage of their power by just supporting them. If other parties see our position that RPP is also there, then we will go together, otherwise, we will not participate in government formation," said Thapa.
In the 110-member state assembly, 56 MPs are required to form the government. Nepali Congress, the largest party in Bagmati Province Assembly has 37 MPs, while UML has 27 MPs, Maoist Center has 21, RPP has 13, United Samajwadi Party 7, Nepal Workers Peasants Party (NWPP)3, and our Nepali Party has 2 MPs. Since there is no clear majority of any party in the province, it is necessary to form a government through coordination in Bagmati province.
After the change in the central power equation, new options have been seen for the formation of the government in Bagmati. The current situation is that the key to power in Bagmati province is with RPP. Based on the number of MPs, RPP is seen as the decisive force in the new coalition for government formation.
The new ruling coalition has a clear majority in Bagmati province. The ruling coalition parties have 27 MPs from UML, 21 from Maoist Center, and 13 from RPP. A government can be easily formed when there is power sharing between them. Even though the RPP supported the government at the center, it did not join the government.
The ruling coalition is preparing to participate in the central government by including its conditions in the minimum common program. Party leader Thapa says that if the RPP participates in the government at the center, it will naturally claim the leadership of the government in the province.
We are the decisive force for the formation of the government in 4 provinces. Since our presence in Bagmati province is strong, we should get the leadership here," he said.
There are 61 MPs in the state assembly including 27 from UML, 21 from Maoist, and 13 from RPP. On the other hand, if the RPP and the United Samajwadi Party coordinate with each other, there may be a chance for Congress to form the government. The support of 19 MPs is enough for Congress to form the government.
If Congress is supported by 13 MPs of the RPP and 7 MPs of the United Socialist Party, the government can be formed in Bagmati from a new angle. However, the parties have not made any preparations for the formation of the government in Bagmati Province.
Although the chief minister is making claims within his own party, the parties are waiting for the decision of the center as the government formation process will proceed according to the division at the center. The government will be formed in the province according to the equation formed at the center. Therefore, the parties in the Bagmati state assembly are in a wait-and-see situation.
The parliamentary party e elected leader UML Jaganath Thapalia is the only contender for the post of Chief Minister. After 3 other candidates from UML were defeated in the elections, if UML gets the opportunity to lead the government, Thapalia will easily become the Chief Minister.
The Maoists are yet to finalize the leader of the parliamentary party. Maoist will elect a party leader on Friday. In that party, five people are aspiring to become the chief minister by becoming the leader of the party.
For the leader of the parliamentary party from the Maoist center, Shalikram Jamkattel, who previously became the party leader in 2017 AD Saral Sahayatri Poudel, chairman of the Maoist center Bagmati province, Yuvraj Dulal 'Sharad', former deputy speaker of the provincial assembly Radhika Tamang and Nepal Samajwadi Party leader Ganga Narayan who won the election by contesting the election symbol of the Maoist center. Shrestha is claiming. They are all contenders for Chief Ministership.
However, Jamkattel and Paudel are seen as the main contenders. Party politburo member Jamkattel and state president Poudel have not given up their claims. It is said that if the party leaders are not unanimous, there may be an election contest. Since the party leader is the chief minister, there is competition between the leaders. In Bagmati, there are a total of 21 MPs from the Maoists in the Provincial Assembly.