Chief Minister Yadav, Once Supported by JSP Against UML, Now Ousts JSP to Align with UML

May 21, Janakpurdham — Madhesh Province Chief Minister Krishna Prasad Yadav dismissed three ministers from the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal on Thursday. Simultaneously, he inducted Mohammad Samir from CPN-UML into the government as a minister without portfolio.

The dismissed JSP ministers include Rajkumar Gupta (Physical Infrastructure Minister), Manish Suman (Labor and Transport Minister), and Ranikumari Tiwari (Education and Culture Minister).

Chief Minister Yadav had earlier instructed these ministers to resign, but they refused to comply, leading to their dismissal.

Notably, the JSP Nepal is the party that, eight months ago, had backed Krishna Prasad Yadav from the Congress party to become Chief Minister but refrained from forming government under its own leadership by resigning.

After the collapse of the Janmat Party government under Satish Kumar Singh, Jitendra Sonal of the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LOSPA) was appointed Chief Minister. During the confidence vote on November 8, both Congress and UML were in opposition.

Following that, provincial lawmaker Rahbar Ansari of the then CPN-Maoist Center rebelled, and Janmat’s MPs Satish Singh and Tribhuvan Sah were absent from parliament, resulting in Chief Minister Sonal failing to secure a vote of confidence and resigning.

Subsequently, the UML, the province’s largest party, maneuvered to form a government, leveraging the province chief and invoking Article 168(3) of the constitution to appoint UML’s Saroj Kumar Yadav as Chief Minister late at night on November 9. The oath-taking ceremony the following day at a hotel triggered significant political tension in Madhesh.

Following this, Congress, JSP Nepal, and four other parties formed a coalition and launched protests, isolating UML in Madhesh.

These events escalated into physical assaults on officials and vandalism, with the issue reaching the Supreme Court.

The Provincial Assembly sessions were held outdoors on the ground, and the province remained unrestful for nearly a month before the UML government collapsed.

After the UML government fell, Madhesh-centric parties including JSP Nepal and LOSPA attempted to form a government. However, due to Congress joining the coalition protests, all parties agreed to appoint Krishna Prasad Yadav of Congress as Chief Minister.

On December 4, Krishna Prasad Yadav from Congress was appointed Chief Minister, securing support from 22 Congress, 18 JSP Nepal, 13 Janmat, 9 Maoist Center, 8 LOSPA, and 7 CPN Unified Socialist legislative members, with UML positioned alone in opposition.

However, political equations in Madhesh have shifted again. Chief Minister Yadav has sidelined the parties that once supported him and aligned with UML to sustain the government.

Before dismissing the JSP Nepal ministers, the party had decided on Thursday afternoon to extend a vote of confidence to Chief Minister Yadav, but a few hours of political upheaval changed the situation.

On Thursday, the JSP Nepal and LOSPA parliamentary parties held a joint meeting, where Saroj Kumar Yadav was selected as party leader and a decision was made to continue supporting the government. Yet, after Chief Minister Yadav withdrew support, JSP retracted its decision and did not provide a vote of confidence on Friday.

Dismissed minister and JSP MP Manish Suman expressed dissatisfaction that the Chief Minister did not even offer an opportunity to resign.

“The Chief Minister has deceitfully formed an alliance with a party like UML,” he said. “When Saroj Yadav of UML was Chief Minister, we supported him from the streets to the Supreme Court. To see this happen now is the height of betrayal.”

JSP Nepal MP Rupa Yadav accused Congress of betrayal. “The step taken by a Congress Chief Minister is objectionable. This is treachery, and we will form a position on this moving forward,” she stated.

In Madhesh, a tripartite coalition has formed among Congress, UML, and CPN. With 54 votes required to form a government, UML holds 24 seats, Congress 22, and CPN 15, totaling 61 seats out of the provincial assembly.

On Friday, after the Chief Minister secured a vote of confidence in the assembly, 62 members voted in favor and 36 against.