JANAKPUR: The Nepali Congress has staked a claim to form a new government in Madhesh Province under the leadership of its parliamentary party leader, Krishna Prasad Yadav, with backing from the CPN-UML and the Janamat Party.

The three parties submitted their claim to the Office of the Province Chief on Wednesday, asserting the support of 58 provincial assembly members — four more than the 54 needed for a majority in the 107-member assembly.

Although incumbent Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh of the Janamat Party has lost his majority, he has yet to resign.

Earlier today, the CPN-UML withdrew its support from the Singh-led government, and its ministers tendered their resignations. The Nepali Congress had already withdrawn its support a few days earlier. The Janamat Party itself had directed its chief minister and ministers to step down and had officially pulled out of the government.

Despite earlier remarks by Janamat Party leader Dr. Chandra Kanta (CK) Raut that his party would no longer participate in “power games,” the party’s provincial parliamentary leader, Mahesh Prasad Yadav, has now written to the Province Chief expressing support for the Congress-led coalition.