Two other Madhes-based parties -- Sadbhawana Party and TMDP-Nepal -- said whether they will join Khanal-led government will depend on how he would take them into confidence. [break]
While NC has a total 114 seats, MPRF-D, TMDP, RPP and RJP have 28, 11, 8 and 3 seats, respectively in parliament, Sadbhawana Party and TMDP-Nepal have nine seats each.
Speaking to Republica, NC Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire ruled out the possibility of national consensus government under Khanal´s leadership. “NC will support the government for successful conclusion of peace process and promulgation of new constitution by staying in the opposition,” he said.
MPRF-D Chief Whip Ram Janam Chaudhary said his party will stay in opposition as the party´s prime ministerial candidate was defeated in the prime ministerial election. “There is no point in joining the government now,” he said.
Similarly, TMDP Joint General Secretary Jitendra Sonar, whose party also voted for Gachchhadar, said his party will stay in the opposition. “All the parties voting for Gachchhadar will stay in opposition,” he said.
Likewise, Joint General Secretary of RJP Arjun Rai, central member of the RPP Thakur Sharma and parliamentary party leader of RPP-N Chandra Bahadur Gurung said they will also stay in opposition. The RJP and RPP had supported NC candidate Paudel.
All left parties except Nepal Peasants and Workers Party (NPWP) had voted in favor of Khanal in parliament, indicating sharp polarization between leftists and democratic parties.
The TMDP-Nepal and Sadbhawana Party said they are still undecided whether to join Khanal-led government. “It will depend on how new government will treat us,” said TMDP-Nepal Chairman Mahendra Yadav.
Meanwhile, Sadbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato said it is too early to comment anything on the issue. “It is not that easy to join Khanal-led government,” he said, adding: “It will take time to see how willing they are to address the issues of Madhes and accomplish the tasks of peace process and constitution drafting process.”
MPRF abstains from voting
MPRF-N-led by Upendra Yadav abstained from voting in the prime ministerial election as the party remained sharply divided whether or not to vote for UML candidate Khanal. “It is unfortunate that our party abstained from voting. It was a great mistake and unfortunate,” said the party´s Co-Chairman JP Gupta.
The party has a total of 25 seats in parliament.
The decision to abstain from voting was made on the basis of majority voting in the party´s parliamentary party meeting. “We lost the opportunity to reunite and show Madhesi strength due to the decision,” Gupta said.
Gupta added that the decision of the Maoists to vote in favor of Khanal was the result of a secret understanding between UML Chairman Khanal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to form left-dominated puppet government of the Maoists. “Our party meeting will take a decision whether to be a part of Khanal-led government,” he further said.
Related story
TMDP urges UML for cooperation for constitution implementation
-1779842101.webp)
