Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal, who was facing a vote of confidence after two Maoist lawmakers rebelled last Saturday, resigned from office amid tensions.

UML-Congress was warning Speaker Ramchandra Mandal to divide the votes in the confidence vote, while Sonal-backed parties and MPs kept shouting slogans demanding that some more time be added for discussion and the deadlock be broken.

When Speaker Mandal was not ready to stop the meeting of the Provincial Assembly, Chief Minister Sonal and two ministers without portfolio, Mahesh Yadav of the Janmat Party and Kanishk Patel of the CPN (S), walked out of the meeting. Speaker Mandal adjourned the meeting for 10 minutes after LSP MP Upendra Mahato reminded him of the constitutional tradition of adjourning the parliament session if no government minister was present.

At that time, the parties and leaders supporting Sonal were trying to lure two Maoist MPs, Rahab Ansari and Mala Karna, who had launched a rebellion. After receiving a call from the Maoist leader, MP Karna agreed to give a confidence vote, but Ansari did not budge.

‘I myself tried to convince Maoist MP Ansari,’ former Madhesh Pradesh Chief Minister and JSP Nepal leader Lalbabu Raut told Kantipur late on Saturday, ‘But, he was not persuaded . Even when his party’s top leader called, he did not answer .’ 

While the Sonal supporters and leaders were in internal discussions, Speaker Mandal moved the provincial assembly meeting forward with only UML-Congress MPs present and rang the bell to divide the votes . 

The provincial assembly meeting then became tense . A large number of dignitaries surrounded the rostrum . Some MPs struggled to reach the speaker’s seat by pushing the dignitaries.  Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sonal came to the parliament meeting and resigned from his post, accusing Speaker Mandal of partisan behavior . 

Even though Sonal resigned from the post of Chief Minister, he continued to work hard to form a government again by building a majority under his own leadership. After the discussions led by him, the Congress left the UML and stood in Sonal's favor on Sunday. 'Since he resigned before facing a vote of confidence in the provincial assembly, he had met the provincial chief with a request to call for the formation of a government of two or more parties as per Article 168, Clause 2 of the Constitution,' Sonal said. 'The provincial chief asked for one or two days' time to take legal advice. If something was going wrong, then there was a suspicion.'

Supporters of 7 parties including the Congress sat on a sit-in at the provincial chief's residence inside the Janakpur cigarette factory since late Sunday evening, chanting slogans. UML leaders and workers also reached there and demonstrated. Sonal, who was at the official residence inside Jachukali, received a call from the provincial chief's secretariat around 4 am on Monday, 'Your honorable sir, he is going to Kathmandu right now as his health has deteriorated.'

Sonal reached the official residence of provincial chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari, who was next to her. Bhandari was sitting ready to leave for Kathmandu. Outside her residence, Sonal's supporters were being recruited. Sonal came out and personally helped the provincial chief's convoy move forward, removing those who were on a sit-in. She bid farewell by giving a bouquet of flowers and wishing him a speedy recovery.

'After returning from treatment, he had gone to Kathmandu to call for the formation of a new government,' said a provincial MP from the LOSPA, 'However, preparations had already been made to appoint UML's Saroj Kumar Yadav (Mahottari) as the Chief Minister at Panas Cottage in Kalapani, Bardibas.' We were shocked to see that the provincial chief, who left the provincial capital Janakpur on the pretext of treatment, violated the constitution and appointed the Chief Minister and administered the oath.'

The provincial chief, who left Janakpur early in the morning for treatment, reached the cottage in Bardibas and was appointed the Chief Minister.

Tikaram Upreti, the personal secretary of provincial chief Bhandari, argued that the newly appointed Chief Minister Yadav had to be removed from the provincial chief's office because there was no atmosphere to administer the oath. 'There was a sit-in in front of the residence and office. The provincial chief appointed Yadav, the leader of the UML parliamentary party, as the Chief Minister, as the largest party, only after considering all constitutional aspects and taking legal advice, as per Clause 3.'

According to Upreti, the provincial chief had to go to Kathmandu for treatment after developing asthma and a cold at night and his cholesterol was also high. ‘The oath-taking ceremony was held at a place where the road meets the road,’ Upreti said, ‘We are about to reach Kathmandu. His treatment will proceed on the advice of the doctor.’

The events at Panas Cottage in Bardibas have caused tension at the Madhesh Provincial Government Secretariat in Janakpur. The offices of the Chief Minister and the Provincial Chief have been vandalized and the ministries have been padlocked. A vehicle has been parked at the main gate to prevent the newly appointed Chief Minister Yadav from entering the government secretariat. Seven parties, including the Nepali Congress, are preparing to file a writ petition with the signatures of 74 MPs in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Provincial Chief.