Kathmandu, Nov. 8 -- The Madhesh Province government led by Chief Minister Jitendra Prasad Sonal collapsed on Saturday, just 25 days after its formation, after he failed to secure a vote of confidence in the provincial assembly.

Sonal, who had formed the government on October 15 with the support of 56 lawmakers under Article 168(2) of the Constitution, resigned hours before the scheduled trust vote when it became clear that all his coalition partners would not back him.

Two CPN (Maoist Centre) lawmakers-Rahbar Ansari and Mala Karn-publicly announced that they would neither vote for nor against the motion, effectively abstaining from the confidence vote.

Similarly, former chief minister Satish Kumar Singh and lawmaker Tribhuwan Sah, who...