KATHMANDU: Ministers from the Nepali Congress in the Koshi Provincial Government are preparing to resign following a change in the ruling coalition after a three-point agreement between the CPN-UML and the NCP.
According to sources, Congress ministers are likely to submit their resignations either this evening or by Thursday morning. The party currently holds four ministerial positions in the province, including one state minister.
Sources at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers said that once the resignations are tendered, the process of forming a new provincial government will move forward.
Meanwhile, discussions between the UML and the NCP over the distribution of ministries have been ongoing since Friday. The NCP is demanding four ministries, equivalent to the number previously held by the Congress, while the UML has argued that only three ministries can be allocated based on parliamentary strength. In the Koshi Provincial Assembly, the UML has 40 lawmakers and the Maoist Centre has 17.
Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki and NCP parliamentary party leader Indra Bahadur Angbo have been tasked with finalizing the number of ministries and their respective responsibilities.
Koshi currently has nine ministries, including the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers. Chief Minister Karki has opposed increasing the number of ministries despite suggestions from some leaders within his own party.
Karki said that negotiations with the NCP have largely reached an understanding.
“We are not getting bogged down by minor issues. Our focus is on implementing the agreement reached at the center,” he said.
According to a UML leader who attended the meeting, the party is prepared to offer four ministries to the NCP if necessary to ensure the agreement is implemented.
Ministry reshuffle likely
At present, the UML is leading the ministries of Economic Affairs and Planning, Internal Affairs and Law, Drinking Water and Irrigation, and Social Development. The Congress is in charge of Physical Infrastructure Development, Industry, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Health, and Tourism, Forest and Environment.
A reshuffle of ministerial responsibilities is expected as part of the government reorganization. Both parties are likely to retain one major ministry each between Economic Affairs and Planning and Physical Infrastructure, while the remaining portfolios will be redistributed.
Chief Minister Karki clarified that although the portfolios may change, the current UML ministers will continue in office.
Earlier, UML Chair KP Sharma Oli had reportedly sought to replace Karki, but after Karki maintained that he would not resign, the party has now reached an understanding to allow him to continue as chief minister.
A signature campaign had also been launched by some lawmakers seeking Karki’s removal, and a few ministers were said to have been involved in that effort.
