The Nepali Congress on Monday directed its lawmakers to vote against Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in a floor test scheduled for Wednesday.

Ramesh Lekhak, the party’s chief whip, issued a whip to Congress lawmakers to be present mandatorily and vote against the confidence motion to be tabled by the prime minister.

The prime minister is going for the floor test as per Article 100(2) of the constitution that says “if the political party which the prime minister represents is divided or a political party in coalition government withdraws its support, the prime minister shall table a motion in the House of Representatives for a vote of confidence within thirty days.”

The Nepali Congress withdrew its support to the government after Dahal broke ties with the largest party and forged a new alliance with the CPN-UML and other parties on March 4.

The current coalition of the CPN-UML, the CPN (Maoist Centre), the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the Janata Samajbadi Party and the CPN (Unified Socialist) commands a comfortable majority to give the prime minister a vote of confidence.

Meanwhile, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has decided to stay in the opposition of the current government.

A three-day central work execution committee meeting that concluded on Monday took the decision in the changed political context.

“It has been decided that the RPP will not join the present government and it will vote against it and remain in the opposition bench,” a statement issued by the party on Monday said.

The party has also decided not to join provincial governments. “If there is a specific need to support a government in a certain province, the party chair will take an appropriate decision in consultation with the province concerned,” read the statement issued by the party’s publicity department chief Mohan Kumar Shrestha.