According to a high-level UML source, the central leadership is seriously discussing the option of changing the leadership in Koshi.
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With the agreement between CPN-UML and the Nepal Communist Party to form a new power-sharing arrangement, the question of who will lead Koshi Province has once again become a topic of discussion. After the agreement that the government will remain under UML leadership, the decision of whether to continue with incumbent Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki or to put forward a new face is now in the hands of the party leadership.
According to the agreement between UML and NCP, UML will lead the governments of Koshi, Bagmati, and Lumbini provinces, while Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces have gone to the NCP. Along with this, preparations have begun for the reorganization of the government in Koshi. According to Ramesh Basnet, chief whip of UML Koshi, discussions have not yet started regarding who will be made chief minister in the new situation. He said that the recent developments have not been discussed in the party's provincial committee. He also stated that it is not known whether the central leadership will make the decision about the individual or whether the province will have to make a recommendation. "If the responsibility to decide is given to the province, there is a strong possibility that the incumbent will be continued," he said, "but if it comes from the center, nothing can be said."
According to a high-level UML source, the central leadership is seriously discussing the option of changing the leadership in Koshi. In particular, the UML source stated that the recent relationship between UML Chair KP Sharma Oli and Chief Minister and Secretary Karki has not been especially cordial. "In that sense, the possibility that Chair (Oli) will replace Karki appears strong," said one lawmaker.
If there is a change in leadership, UML parliamentary party deputy leader Tilak Kumar Menyangbo is seen as the strongest contender. Menyangbo, who is the senior leader of the provincial parliamentary party after Karki, is the deputy leader of the UML parliamentary party. Elected from Taplejung 1 (1), he served as Minister for Drinking Water, Irrigation, and Energy in the first provincial government led by Hikmat Kumar Karki (from 25 Poush 2079 to 22 Asar 2080). During the cabinet reshuffle, he also briefly held the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. Before that, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Taplejung in 2056 and has already played an active role in national politics.
Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki has already publicly stated that he is ready to hand over the position and has maintained that the change in power should occur according to due process and procedure.
Since the implementation of federalism, the government in Koshi Province has been formed nine times so far. Sherdhan Rai, Bhim Prasad Acharya, Rajendra Kumar Rai, Uddhav Thapa, Kedar Karki, and Hikmat Kumar Karki—six leaders in total—have already served as chief minister.
During the term of the second provincial assembly alone, the government has changed five times. The upcoming government will be the tenth since the establishment of the province and the seventh in the second term.
