After deputy PM quits, Nepal PM to seek 4th confidence vote in 18 months

KATHMANDU: Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will seek a vote of confidence in parliament on May 20, the fourth within 18 months of taking office, days after a coalition partner withdrew support. Prachanda belongs to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), the third largest party in the House of Representatives .
The decision to seek the vote came after the Upendra Yadav-led Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal on May 13 withdrew its support for the govt following a split in his party.He also resigned as deputy PM. The PM is required to take a vote of confidence within 30 days if the party he is representing splits or if a member of the coalition govt withdraws support. The govt requires at least 138 votes in the 275-member House to win the trust vote.
Last year, Prachanda faced a floor test after former PM KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew its support to the Prachanda-led govt 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 Jan 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.