Nagarik Unmukti Party recommends Kailash Chaudhary for forest ministry in Sudurpaschim province

Dhangadhi: The Nagarik Unmukti Party (NAUPA) has officially recommended Kailash Chaudhary for the position of Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment in Sudurpaschim Province.
Party Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha made the recommendation for Chaudhary, who was directly elected from Kailali Constituency 1(A). A meeting of the NAUPA Provincial Parliamentary Party held in Dhangadhi on Tuesday had given the party’s central leadership a one-week deadline to finalize the ministerial appointment. The meeting also unanimously decided that if the center failed to recommend a name within the given time, the provincial parliamentary party would assume the authority.

Following this, Provincial Parliamentary Party Leader Ghanshyam Chaudhary sent a formal letter to the party chairperson, requesting the official nomination. In response, Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha informed the parliamentary party leader of her recommendation through an official letter.

“As requested by the Center to send an official letter for the recommendation of a minister in the Sudurpaschim Province government, I hereby inform you that Mr. Kailash Chaudhary, a member of the Provincial Assembly elected from Kailali Constituency No. 1(A), has been recommended as the Minister of Tourism, Forest and Environment of Sudurpaschim Province to work as per the party’s instructions,” reads the letter. “Also, I request you to follow the instructions given accordingly.”
The ministerial post has remained vacant since Chaitra 16, when then-Minister Laxman Kishore Chaudhary resigned following a leaked audio controversy. Despite his resignation, the party had delayed nominating a replacement for over one and a half months.
A meeting held earlier at a hotel in Dhangadhi—with participation from party patron Resham Chaudhary, Chairperson Shrestha, and federal MPs—had agreed to delegate the responsibility of naming the new minister to the party chairperson. However, no nomination was made immediately after that decision, prompting the recent one-week deadline.
According to sources close to the party, Chairperson Shrestha has now sent Kailash Chaudhary’s name to the Provincial Parliamentary Party as well as to the Secretariat of Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah.
“According to the letter sent by the provincial parliamentary party, the chairperson has recommended the name of Honorable Kailash Chaudhary as minister. This information has also been sent to the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers’ office,” a party insider confirmed. “Now that the chairman has made the recommendation, there should be no delay in the appointment.”
However, Chief Minister Shah stated that he has not yet received official communication regarding the recommendation.
“I will appoint the minister based on their recommendation,” said CM Shah. “But so far, there is no official information on who has been recommended or whether a recommendation has been made.”
The absence of a minister in the Ministry of Forests has already begun to impact the formulation of policies, programs, and the provincial budget. While the Chief Minister is reportedly planning to appoint the new minister soon, delays from NAUPA had stalled the process. The party now maintains that all procedural steps have been completed, and the appointment should happen without further delay.