CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal looks set to make a comeback as the 39th prime minister, possibly in the next few weeks, with the Nepali Congress and Madhes-based parties pledging to throw their weight behind him.

The Maoist Centre, which filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Parliament on Wednesday with the backing of the NC and CPN (Samyukta), appears confident about proving a majority in Parliament.

Out of 298 seats required to form the government, the emerging alliance can garner the support of 331 lawmakers if the Madhes-based parties under the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha vote in favour of Dahal. The NC and the Maoist Centre respectively have 207 and 82 seats, while the SLMM, which has seven Madhes-based parties under it, has 39 seats and the CPN (Samyukta) has three. A day after pulling out of the government, the NC on Wednesday officially endorsed the seven-point deal reached between Dahal and NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba on government formation. A central committee meeting of the NC on Wednesday also called on PM Oli to step down, arguing that his government has lost majority. It also decided to lodge a no-confidence motion against the government.

Soon after the NC made its decision public, the Maoist Centre issued an ultimatum asking PM Oli either to quit by 3pm or face no-confidence motion.  Later in the day, the first and third largest parties and CPN (Samyukta) registered the motion in Parliament. “PM Oli should have stepped down soon after we withdrew support to the government. We decided to take parliamentary course after he refused to do so,” said Maoist Centre Spokesperson Pampha Bhusal.  

The Maoist Centre’s bid to form a new political alignment received a major boost on Wednesday after the Madhes-based parties agreed, in principle, to extend “support to topple the Oli government”. Maoist leaders said the SLMM has so far agreed to oust PM Oli but remains undecided over joining the new government.  Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav confirmed that the Morcha had agreed to vote against Oli. “The Morcha would take an appropriate decision depending on how things unfold,” said Yadav. Some Madhesi leaders have hinted that they would participate in the

government formation if the NC and the Maoist Centre “agree to address the Madhesi parties’ demands on state restructuring”.