Nepal's PM Prachanda loses trust vote; KP Sharma Oli set for comeback

New Delhi: Nepal's politics will yet again enter a new phase with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal or Prachanda losing power on Friday, over one year and six months after his appointment, paving the way for veteran leader KP Sharma Oli to take over the reins.

At a confidence vote put to test on Friday, Dahal failed to secure the 138 votes required to win as only 63 MPs voted in his favour in the 275-member House of Representatives. A total of 194 lawmakers voted against him.

Prachanda had opted for the floor test in accordance with Article 100(2) of the Constitution after the CPN-UML, led by Oli, withdrew its support to the government following a deal with the Nepali Congress to form a new coalition, reducing the Dahal-led government to a minority. The UML is planning to claim the formation of a new government with the support of over two-thirds of the lawmakers. As per the understanding between Nepali Congress and UML, UML chair Oli will lead the new 'national consensus government' for a year and a half. For the remaining term of the present Parliament, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba will be the prime minister.


After the November 2022 election, Dahal, chief of the third-largest party in the House of Representatives, led the government for over one-and-a-half years with the support of both Congress and the UML, turn by turn. During this period, UML backed Dahal two times while the Nepali Congress supported him once to form the government.

Dahal first became the PM with UML's support. But Congress was bent on breaking the UML-Maoist alliance and supported him in the vote of confidence after his swearing-in. After that, Dahal and Deuba started coordinating moves. When Dahal decided to support Congress candidate Ramchandra Paudel in the presidential election, the UML withdrew its support to the Dahal government on February 26, 2023.