Thapa and Oli meet in Gundu, discuss Madhesh government

Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli held discussions on the Madhesh provincial government on Tuesday evening.

President Thapa went to Oli's residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, and the two leaders talked for about an hour. According to sources close to Thapa, the meeting also touched on the political equation of the Madhesh government and recent political developments. However, neither side has publicly released formal details of the meeting.

This is the first meeting between Thapa and Oli since Thapa was elected party president.

Madhesh province currently has a government led by Congress's Krishna Prasad Yadav. The government has been in a minority since UML withdrew its support last Asoj. Chief Minister Yadav must win a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly by Kartik 29. Speaker Ram Ashish Yadav has said he has not yet been informed about this.

In the 107-member provincial assembly, at least 54 members' support is needed to form a government. JSP Nepal has 27 members, UML 23, Congress 22, Nepal Communist Party 15, and Janamat Party 12. The Federal Socialist Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party each have one member.

Earlier, discussions had been underway between UML, JSP Nepal and Janamat Party on forming a new government.