KATHMANDU, March 11: The Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) and Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN), two Madhes-based parties in parliament, have hinted at supporting Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as he seeks a vote of confidence in the House.
PM Oli is scheduled to face a vote of confidence in parliament on Sunday, three weeks after a coalition of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) elected him to power in February.
Leaders of the two Madhes-based parties said that they will be voting for Prime Minister Oli during the vote of confidence in parliament on Sunday.
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RJPN presidium member Raj Kishore Yadav said that his party has decided to support Oli during the vote of confidence. RJPN is in the early stage of negotiation with the left alliance to explore the possibility of joining the government.
FSFN, which has already decided to join the government, will also vote for the prime minister, according to the party's co-chair Rajendra Shrestha. Some minor differences over power-sharing have prevented the party from joining the government.
If the lawmakers from the two Madhesi parties vote for Prime Minister Oli, his government will have the support of more than two-thirds lawmakers in the federal parliament and will be in a position to change the constitution.
No government in Nepal has won a two-thirds majority in the House post 1990.
RJPN and FSFN are respectively the fourth and fifth largest parties in parliament. RJPN lawmaker Resham Chaudhary is yet to take the oath of office.
