KATHMANDU: The recent controversial actions by Madhesh Province Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal and Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari have precipitated significant political chaos across the province. The appointment of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), abbreviated CPN (UML), leader Saroj Kumar Yadav as Chief Minister by Bhandari during the night immediately triggered backlash, culminating in the vandalism of the Chief Minister’s office on November 10. Throughout the day, opposition parties staged vociferous demonstrations at Madhesh Bhawan, directing their protests against Speaker Mandal, Province Chief Bhandari, and the newly installed Chief Minister Yadav. Consequently, the Province Chief’s decisive action has isolated the UML within the Madhesh Provincial Assembly, evidenced by the loud anti-UML slogans chanted during the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister and several ministers.

Parties outside the Madhesh government carried out violent protests at the Provincial Assembly’s administrative building. When Provincial Assembly members tried to enter Madhesh Bhawan this morning, the police stopped them. Subsequently, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) Provincial Assembly members physically assaulted the police and hurled abuse. The members then locked the Provincial Ministries once they opened inside Madhesh Bhawan. Upon receiving news that the newly appointed Chief Minister Yadav was coming to Madhesh Bhawan, representatives and members of seven parties gathered at the gate to protest and stop him. The protesters vandalized flower pots placed in front of the gate and chanted fierce slogans targeting the Province Chief and the UML during the demonstration.

Chief Minister Jitendra Prasad Sunar (Sonal), who was appointed under Article 168 (2) of the Constitution, resigned on November 8 after realizing he would not secure a vote of confidence in the Provincial Assembly. Subsequently, UML Parliamentary Party leader Saroj Kumar Yadav was appointed Chief Minister under Article 168 (3) of the Constitution. Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari, who had left Madhesh Bhawan citing illness, administered the oath of office to Yadav in the middle of the night at a hotel in Bardibas, located on the border of Mahottari and Sindhuli. UML leaders and a few members of the Provincial Assembly from Madhesh participated in the swearing-in ceremony.

Previously, parties other than the UML had met Province Chief Bhandari and urged her to call for the formation of a government under Sub-article 2 of Article 168 of the Constitution. During the meeting with the parties, Bhandari had stated that it would take two to three days as she was in discussions. However, less than 24 hours after meeting the parties, she circumvented everyone and appointed her own party’s leader, Saroj Kumar Yadav, in the middle of the night, that too outside Janakpurdham.

Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal, who was appointed on October 15 with the support of 56 Provincial Assembly members from five parties in Madhesh Province, announced his resignation in the Provincial Assembly on Saturday after seeing no prospect of securing a vote of confidence. Immediately after, he submitted his resignation to Province Chief Bhandari.

When Sonal went to speak at the Provincial Assembly rostrum on November 8, two Provincial Assembly members from the CPN (Maoist Center) tried to speak in the middle of his address. Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal then insisted that they could not speak because time was allotted based on party representation. In protest of Mandal’s stance, opposition parties began shouting, demanding that the Maoist members be allowed to speak, after which Speaker Mandal allowed Maoist Center Provincial Assembly member Rahbar Ansari to speak. He blackened his own face and declared that he would not give a vote of confidence to Sonal. Following that, another Maoist Center Provincial Assembly member, Mala Karna, also announced she would not give a vote of confidence. Consequently, the government led by Sonal was in crisis. After the attempts to persuade Ansari and Karna to vote for a vote of confidence failed, Sonal resigned as Chief Minister.

Sonal had requested Speaker Mandal to postpone the process of seeking a vote of confidence for some time. But after Speaker Mandal stated that the determined time could not be stopped, Sonal resigned as Chief Minister. Immediately after, he criticized Mandal’s role and chanted slogans against him in the Provincial Assembly.

Armed Police Force deployed to quell unrest in Madhesh

After no government could secure a vote of confidence, parties started demanding the formation of a government again according to the old procedure. Parties other than the UML met Province Chief Bhandari and demanded that she call for the formation of a government according to Sub-article 2 of Article 168 of the Constitution. She called and consulted the parties from Sunday morning and stated that she would call for the formation of the government after legal consultation. Before calling for the government formation, she had conversed with the former Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal.

On Sunday, news of her illness was made public. But shortly after, Bhandari arrived at the Panas Hotel in Bardibas, Mahottari. The UML Provincial Assembly members, some leaders, and the newly appointed Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav were waiting for her there. At the hotel, she called on the parties to form a government and administered the oath of office to Yadav as the leader of the largest party.

Bhandari’s controversial move is now being protested across the province. The reason why Bhandari bypassed the provincial capital and administered the oath of office in a hotel is unknown. However, some speculate that she chose the hotel in Bardibas due to fear of immediate resistance if the ceremony was held in Janakpur. But she has faced severe criticism after the swearing-in.

Along with the Chief Minister, UML’s Lakhan Das Tatma, Nepal Sanghiya Samajwadi Party’s Bimala Ansari, and RPP’s Kanchan Bichha also took the oath as provincial ministers at the hotel. Regarding RPP’s participation in the UML-led government, RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden stated that the participation was a serious violation of discipline and instructed them to immediately withdraw from the Madhesh government. Lingden also warned that failure to withdraw would result in action.

It is astonishing that the Chief Minister and ministers were appointed and sworn in at night in a private hotel outside the provincial capital, despite the existence of government structures in Madhesh Province. Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader Krishna Prasad Yadav stated that this risks defaming federalism and that the Province Chief’s action poses a threat to federalism itself. He says, “This has also attacked the spirit of the Constitution. We are opposing this and have started the process of filing a case in the Supreme Court with the signatures of 74 Provincial Assembly members. We are committed to protecting the Constitution and safeguarding federalism.”

Yadav also informed that the meeting of parties other than the UML discussed the controversial role of the Speaker. “Discussions were held on whether to initiate impeachment or how to proceed,” he said. Former Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal also criticized the role of Province Chief Bhandari. He says, “The people of Madhesh Province have been betrayed; Madhesh Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari, who left claiming to be ill and seeking treatment, orchestrated a conspiracy at a hotel on the border of Sindhuli and Mahottari to destroy the dignity of the province.”

The step taken by the Province Chief of Madhesh Province has been commented on as exposing democracy itself. Political analyst Roshan Janakpuri believes that the recent events in Madhesh Province have exposed the democratic system. He says, “The long chain of thought, belief, and practice of seizing power by any means in the name of democracy is evident. The current incident mocks democracy.”

Political analyst Bhogendra Jha describes Province Chief Bhandari’s recent role as unethical, apolitical, and unconstitutional. Jha says that the dignity and spirit of federalism have been destroyed because of the Province Chief. He says, “If the government is to save the spirit and dignity of federalism and the Constitution, the Province Chief must be immediately dismissed.”

Political parties across the province, excluding the UML, have strongly criticized Province Chief Bhandari’s recent controversial role. Aam Janata Party Chairman Prabhu Sah termed Bhandari’s appointment of UML leader Yadav as Chief Minister an act of ‘secret’ and ‘unethical’ conduct. In a statement written on social media, Sah explicitly confirmed that “the secret appointment of the Chief Minister in Madhesh once again confirmed that the current constitutional system is not only unsuccessful but also unethical, apolitical, and a den of loot and corruption,” suggesting the incident reflects a profound systemic failure.