Nepal PM Prachanda confident of winning Monday's vote of confidence

Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has exuded confidence that he would win the trust vote in the House of Representatives on Monday, days after a coalition partner withdrew its support for his government.

Prachanda, 69, a former guerilla leader, belongs to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), the third largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR).

He will seek a vote of confidence in Parliament, the fourth within 18 months of taking office, amidst obstruction of the House proceedings by the Opposition Nepali Congress demanding a probe into the alleged involvement of Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the misappropriation of cooperative funds.

“There is no doubt that my government will survive the floor test,” Prime Minister Prachanda said at a ruling party’s programme in Kathmandu on Saturday.

“The differences between the ruling alliance and opposition parties will be sorted out through dialogue,” he said.

The Prime Minister is required to take a vote of confidence within 30 days if the party the Prime Minister is representing splits or if a member of the coalition government withdraws support. The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) withdrew its support last week while quitting the coalition government.

This will be Prime Minister Prachanda's fourth vote of confidence within one and a half years after he assumed the top executive position on December 25, 2022.

The new government requires at least 138 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives to win the vote of trust.

Earlier on March 13, Prime Minister Dahal won his third consecutive vote of confidence.

Last year, Prachanda faced a floor test after former prime minister KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew its support to the Prachanda-led government following a rift over backing the main opposition party’s candidate for the presidential poll.

Prachanda's support has notably declined in successive confidence votes. In January 2023, he obtained 268 votes, followed by 172 in March of the same year. His support further dwindled to just 157 votes in the third-floor test.

Currently, the ruling coalition holds a majority with 77 seats of the CPN-UML, 32 of the Maoist Centre, 21 of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, seven of the newly formed Janata Samajbadi Party and 10 seats of the CPN-Unified Socialist (CPN-US).

Meanwhile, the major political parties have agreed to form a panel to look into the misappropriation of fund by cooperatives.