Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli rushed to the residence of Sher Bahadur Deuba, the chief of the main Opposition Nepali Congress party, to seek his support in the confidence vote that Oli faces in the House of Representatives on May 10. Deuba and other leaders of his party rejected Oli’s appeal, which came on the same day that the CPN (Maoist Centre) — led by Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda” — officially withdrew support to the government, leaving it without a majority in the House.

During his first visit to Deuba’s house since he became Prime Minister 38 months ago, Oli is believed to have offered to accommodate the Nepali Congress in the government. “Nepali Congress declined the offer,” a senior leader of the party said.

On the same day, Chief Whip of the Maoist Centre, Dev Gurung, handed over a letter to officials at the Parliament Secretariat regarding the party’s withdrawal of support to the government. Gurung said the party decided to withdraw support to the Oli government as it had breached the Constitution and that its recent activities have posed a threat to democratic process and national sovereignty. —With PTI input