Kathmandu, August 6: The newly formed Bagmati Province government, led by Nepali Congress leader Indra Bahadur Baniya, is already facing internal unrest on its very first day. The change in leadership was driven not by a planned transition but by a power tussle within the ruling Nepali Congress, which saw Baniya’s camp oust Bahadur Singh Lama from the post of parliamentary party leader.
Originally, the Congress and UML had agreed to a leadership shift in the province only by next February. But Baniya’s group fast-tracked the change, leading to the formation of a new cabinet, which now includes six UML ministers and two from the Congress. Out of the 14-member provincial council of ministers, five posts remain vacant.
Five ministers from the previous Lama-led government resigned to support Baniya’s rise, yet none of them secured a place in the new cabinet. The five — Bimal Thakuri, Madukumar Shrestha, Meenakrishna Maharjan, Surajchandra Lamichhane and Shyamkumar Khadka — had stepped down from their ministerial roles between July 24 and 28. They backed Baniya’s leadership bid but were left out when cabinet positions were distributed.
On the same day Baniya assumed office and formed the cabinet, dissatisfaction flared within the party. Lama’s faction accused Baniya of breaking their internal agreement, which had included appointing three ministers from their side in the new cabinet. They say Baniya neither consulted them nor honored that understanding.
Kundanraj Kafle, former Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, said top leaders had reached a deal to maintain power balance within the party, which has now been ignored. He noted that while Baniya’s election as parliamentary party leader and appointment as Chief Minister may be expected, breaching an internal consensus cannot be taken lightly.
“Baniya was elected leader and became Chief Minister, that’s natural. But ignoring the understanding made in front of senior party leaders is not something we can just accept,” Kafle said. “He didn’t even extend basic courtesy toward the other side while appointing ministers. Let’s see how the remaining appointments go.”
The current cabinet has three ministers from Congress, including Baniya, and six from UML. Shivraj Adhikari and Krishna Kumar Tamang, both from Baniya’s camp, have been appointed as ministers without and with portfolio, respectively. Five ministerial posts remain unfilled.
Chief Minister Baniya has yet to assign portfolios to Minister Adhikari, while keeping key ministries like economic affairs, internal affairs and law, social development, culture and tourism, youth and sports, and cooperatives and poverty alleviation under his direct control.
Kafle warned that if Baniya continues to ignore earlier commitments, he risks losing trust within the party and inviting further complications down the line. “The cabinet is still incomplete. We’ll see if he honors the earlier agreement or goes solo. If he continues in the same fashion, running the government could become difficult, not just for him but for the party as well,” he said.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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