Bagmati Province Chief Minister Post Contested Among Three UML Leaders

Makwanpur. According to the three-point agreement between the CPN (UML) and the Nepali Communist Party, although the leadership of the Bagmati Province government will be led by the CPN (UML), there is a heated debate over who to make the Chief Minister.< p>

On one hand, the issue of whom to bring in from RPP and Hamro Nepali Party is becoming complicated as there is no full majority of only UML and Nepali Communist Party in the Provincial Assembly, and on the other hand, the issue of whom to put forward as Chief Minister from UML itself has become complex.< p>

In particular, UML Parliamentary Party Leader Jagannath Thapaliya has been stating that he is naturally a contender for Chief Minister. However, UML MPs have not accepted him as Chief Minister. UML MPs are emphasizing the need to change the parliamentary party leader, raising questions about Thapaliya's role in past shortcomings and his unusual interference in the budget.< p>

Thapaliya has previously served as the province's Finance Minister twice. He served as the Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning in the government of the then Maoist Center (now CPN), RPP, and UML coalition from Poush 26, 2079 to Chaitra 17, and in the government led by CPN, UML, and Hamro Nepali Party from Chaitra 17, 2080 to Asar 24. UML MPs have repeatedly raised questions about his work as minister and his role as party leader.< p>

Furthermore, MPs say that Thapaliya's role in the UML and Congress coalition government formed in Magh 2081 is not clear. It is said that Thapaliya, as the leader of the UML Parliamentary Party, has been deceiving the MPs in partnership with Congress and has repeatedly acted against the decisions of the parliamentary party.< p>

According to a UML MP, three leaders from UML are claiming the post of Chief Minister of Bagmati. While Thapaliya is claiming the post as the parliamentary party leader, Kiran Thapa and Keshav Pokharel have also increased their respective claims, he said.< p>

If the party's central leadership cannot resolve the dispute between the three and make a unanimous decision, there may be a situation where an election for the parliamentary party leader will have to be held, he said.< p>

Thapaliya was the chief political advisor to the then Chief Minister Dor Mani Poudel from 2074 to 2078. Elected to the Provincial Assembly after winning from Chitwan 1 (1) in the 2079 elections, he was elected as the party leader. Initially open about the former President Bidya Bhandari's faction, he has recently joined Chairman KP Sharma Oli's group. For this reason, he was elected as a central member of UML. His relationship with former Chief Minister Poudel is also not cordial. He is becoming isolated within the parliamentary party.< p>

Kiran Thapa, who has a strong claim to the post of Chief Minister from UML in Bagmati, is a trusted confidant of party secretary Mahesh Basnet. Thapa, originally from Bhaktapur, is a former ward chairman and has served as the province's Health Minister twice. It is rumored in political circles that the main reason for the collapse of the coalition with Congress in Bagmati was keeping Thapa as a minister without portfolio since Magh 1.< p>

Thapa, a crusher businessman by profession, has succeeded in becoming a favorite of Chairman Oli through UML Secretary Basnet. It is said that Thapa has been investing in the management of Chairman Oli's residence. He claims to have played a role in improving the province's health sector.< p>

Meanwhile, Keshav Pokharel, who has been claiming the post of Chief Minister from UML, only got a role in the government for about 8 months. Pokharel was defeated in the UML central member election in the general convention held in Mangsir. He was a candidate for central member from Ishwar Pokharel's team. He believes that he is a suitable candidate for the leadership of the provincial government in terms of ideology and politics.< p>

While there is difficulty in electing the parliamentary party leader within UML, if the center does not make a decision, the leader may be chosen through voting in the province itself, said a UML MP. He said that since three main contenders have emerged for the post of parliamentary party leader, voting may also take place in the current situation. 'If the leadership resolves it and sends it, it's fine. Otherwise, we will decide by voting here (in the province). It is becoming difficult to elect a leader unanimously due to team management and factionalism within the party,' he said.