With the misunderstanding between the Congress and the UML, which are running the governments in all seven provinces, the governments of all seven provinces are about to fall and new ones are being formed. Although the formation and dissolution of governments is natural in a parliamentary democracy, all parties should be aware that it does not create a message of instability and create negative commentary.
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In the 9 years since the implementation of federalism, the provincial governments have remained unstable like the federal government. The first impact of the disagreements that arise between the central leadership of the parties forming the ruling coalition has been on the continuity of the government. In the past, when alliances were formed and broken in turn between the Congress, UML or the then Maoists (currently CPN) to form a federal government, changes were made in the provincial governments accordingly.
After the UML and Congress formed the federal government in Asad 2081, the provincial governments were also formed under their leadership. At present, none of these parties are in the federal government. However, the legacy of disagreements remains. With the disagreements that have arisen between the Congress and UML, which are running the governments of all seven provinces, the governments of all seven provinces are now set to collapse and new ones will be formed. Although the formation and dissolution of governments is natural in a parliamentary democracy, all parties should be aware that this message of instability does not create negative commentary.
With the misunderstanding between the Congress and the UML, which are running the governments of all seven provinces, now the governments of all seven provinces are going to collapse and new ones are going to be formed. When the federal government was formed in Asad 2081 under the leadership of UML and Congress, they made strong commitments such as increasing economic activity and amending the constitution. Accordingly, the provincial government also came to their side. However, the Gen-G movement led to the dissolution of the then federal government led by KP Oli, and the House of Representatives was also dissolved. The provincial government and provincial assembly remained intact. However, there was no basis for the provincial alliance to move forward in the same way for a long time. Because, there was no consensus between the Congress and the UML on the issue of viewing the Gen-G movement.
On the other hand, the leadership has already changed in the Congress through a special general convention. Until they understood the changing situation and reached a consensus on moving forward in a new way, the ruling coalition in the province was seen as only technical. They were meeting without any specific purpose but with the desire to remain in the government. On the other hand, after Oli left the post for the then Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, it was said that there would be a change of government in the province as well. The change in the situation had created uncertainty, so a concrete conclusion was expected.
The Congress and the UML were in talks to change the leadership of the provincial government. However, no understanding could be reached. After that, the Congress reached the conclusion of breaking the alliance with the UML. The trigger for this was from the Far West Province. The UML demanded that the Congress-led Far West government bring a budget that went against the sentiments of its ruling partners and that it be amended. However, after the UML failed to pass the budget, Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah dismissed four UML ministers on Wednesday. Shortly after, the UML decided to withdraw its support to Chief Minister Shah. Similarly, four ministers from the Karnali provincial government submitted their collective resignations to Chief Minister Yamalal Kandel on Wednesday. In other provinces too, they are moving towards secession.
In the next few days, there will probably be allegations/counter-allegations regarding the dissolution of the provincial government and efforts to form a new government in the province. Dialogues are already underway between the Congress and the NCP and the UML and the NCP. Dialogues on government formation are established as a tactic in Nepal. Since the parties do not have transparent dialogues and cannot even establish the justification for their alliance, this issue has been understood as deception or cunning in the past. That has made the citizens even more angry. Therefore, it is imperative that the dialogues and agreements to form a new government be transparent. It is imperative that the parties that agree clearly state why they had to agree. Clear criteria should also be made on issues such as who will become the Chief Minister and who will become a minister from the party. Even though the processes are transparent, the change of government is established as a common context in parliamentary democracy.
At this time, a responsible role is expected from the parties representing the province. There are some contexts for that. First, with the dissolution of the provincial government, there will be a budget gap in the Sudurpaschim province. Since the new fiscal year will start from Friday, the province will have to face the risk of a budget gap if there is no agreement on forming a new coalition or passing the budget immediately. Therefore, all parties should be serious about this. The issues of losing and gaining power are continuous. This is a temporary issue. But mature politics is a permanent issue.
Second, the current political situation is unfavorable for the parties that appear strong in the province. Because, they have been seen as weak in the House of Representatives. They, who have been decisive for the change of power for years, have become the witnesses this time. Therefore, they should be able to develop good political culture in the province. As the old government is being dissolved and a new one is being formed, they are expected to play a mature role and sense of responsibility.
Third, the issue of abolishing the provincial assembly has also been raised. Supporters of federalism have become suspicious after the issue of 'restructuring federalism with the abolition of the provincial assembly' was included in the economic and political proposal presented by Swarnim Wagle at the first general convention of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). On the other hand, the power struggle in the provinces has also helped create a negative perception among people. Therefore, now the parties representing the provinces should try to establish the natural practice of federal democracy in changing the government and end the opaqueness and deceit during the formation of the government. The role of the government and the provincial assembly there remains meaningful to increase the legitimacy of the province.
