Biratnagar, July 24
Province 1, the only province yet to be named, is unlikely to get its name before the next Provincial Assembly elections.
The 2015 constitution, introducing federalism, divided the country into seven provinces without naming them. Provincial legislative units formed after the first provincial assembly elections, conducted in 2017, were assigned to name the provinces. Accordingly, all six provinces have already been named, but Province 1 has failed.
It is unlikely that the province will be named in the term of the current provincial assembly as the elections are just a few months away and the parties are still divided.
Chief Minister Rajendra Kumar Rai has already said the assembly should now hand over the responsibility to the newly elected officials as they fail to find consent.
In particular, the CPN-UML has been insisting that the province be named Koshi whereas other parties are for other names that reflect the ethnic identities of the people there. A proposal needs to be endorsed by two-thirds of the lawmakers and no party has that strength.
