With both the parties agreeing to a 70:30 ratio for sharing seats at the provincial governments and various committees of provincial assemblies, they have a huge task in hand. While the Maoist leadership has started naming chief ministers, the UML has instructed its provincial committees to finalise the names for major posts—chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker—after the National Assembly elections scheduled for Wednesday.
As per an understanding between the allies, the UML will lead the governments in provinces 1, 3, 4 and 5 while the Maoist Centre takes charge of governments in provinces 6 and 7. The UML will have speakers in provinces 1, 3, 6 and 7 and deputy speakers in provinces 4 and 5. The Maoist party will get speakers in provinces 4 and 5 and deputy speakers in provinces 1, 3, 6 and 7.
Provincial committee of the Maoist Centre has already recommended Trilochan Bhatta as the chief minister of Province 7. It has also recommended Nirmala Badal Joshi as the deputy speaker of the provincial assembly, Akkal Rawal as the chief whip and Man Bahadur Sunar as the whip of the parliamentary party.
“We have recommended Bhatta as the leader of the parliamentary party besides recommending candidates for other positions. It’s up to the party to approve the names,” said Lekhraj Bhatta, the Maoist party’s Province 7 in-charge.
