The Sanghiya Gathabandhan, an alliance of the Madhesi and Janajati forces, decided formally on Monday to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion registered against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The decision has put the Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist Centre) in a comfortable position to topple the government.

Parliament is expected to conduct a vote on the no-confidence motion later this week. The Gathabandhan members have decided to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion filed by the NC and the Maoists against the KP Oli-led government, the Gathabandhan said in a statement issued after a two-day meeting that concluded in the Capital on Monday.

The Gathabandhan, however, has not specified whether it will vote for Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in the prime ministerial race. Alliance leaders have so far dismissed the immediate possibility of their joining the government.

Madhesi leaders said that a majority of the parties in the alliance are against joining the NC-Maoist coalition.

But most Madhes-based parties are said to be under pressure from the business community in Birgunj to join the government. The traders have been lobbying for reimbursement of the loss incurred during the five-month long general strike and the border blockade.

Ashok Rai, senior leader of the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal, told the Post that the Gathabandhan would first see what kind of proposal the NC and the Maoists come up with to address their demands. The alliance has put forward 26 demands that include carving out two provinces in the plains.

The Gathabandhan, which wrapped up its month-long relay hunger strike on Friday, has agreed to resume its protest if the demands are not met. Senior leaders from the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party and the Sadbhawana Party did not attend Monday’s meeting.