KATHMANDU: Twenty-one provincial lawmakers of the Nepali Congress in Bagmati Province have submitted a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Bahadur Singh Lama, seeking to remove him from both his position as Chief Minister and as the party’s parliamentary leader.

The motion, signed by 21 out of 24 Congress provincial lawmakers—including four incumbent ministers—was formally submitted to the party’s parliamentary secretariat on Friday.

The motion comes amid deepening internal conflict within the party, particularly over the fiscal year 2025/26 budget introduced by the Lama-led government. The budget had triggered widespread dissent among Congress lawmakers, leading them to push for a leadership change.

Before registering the motion, four Congress ministers—Suraj Chandra Lamichhane (Internal Affairs and Law), Bimal Thakuri (Culture and Tourism), Madhu Shrestha (Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation), and Meen Krishna Maharjan (Youth and Sports)—resigned from their posts, reportedly sending their resignation letters via WhatsApp to CM Lama.

The no-confidence proposal was brought forward under the leadership of Province Congress President and lawmaker Indra Bahadur Baniya, who is now emerging as the party’s candidate for the next Chief Minister.

According to lawmakers close to the development, party president Sher Bahadur Deuba had already instructed for a leadership change and asked Lama to step down earlier this week. However, Lama has refused to resign, prompting Baniya’s faction to proceed with the motion.

The Nepali Congress statute mandates that the parliamentary party leader also serves as the Chief Minister in the province.