Kathmandu, April 7
The newly appointed Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Khagaraj Adhikari has taken oath. Gandaki state chief Dilliraj Bhatt administered the oath of office and secrecy to the chief ministerial officer on Sunday.
Along with the Chief Minister, Maoist Hari Bahadur Chuman and independent MP Deepak Manange also took the oath of office.
Earlier, Adhikari, the leader of Gandaki Province, UML Parliamentary Party, submitted a claim to the Chief Minister only on Sunday morning. The official also took the support of Krishna Dhital, who became the Speaker of the CPN-Maoist Centre.
When Gandaki Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey resigned after the change in the power equation at the Centre, Provincial Chief Minister Dilliraj Bhatta had given time to submit the claim within 3 pm on April 9, according to Article 168 (2) of the Constitution.
The support of 31 MPs including 22 from the CPN-UML, eight from the Maoist Centre and one from the independent was submitted to the provincial head to make Adhikari the Chief Minister.
In the ruling coalition in the 60-member Gandaki Provincial Assembly, there are 22 MPs from the CPN-UML, eight MPs including the Chairman of the Maoist Centre and one independent MP. Likewise, the Nepali Congress has 27 MPs and the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party has two MPs.
