Kathmandu, June 8
Despite the CPN-UML’s central leadership’s decision to make efforts to remove Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Trilochan Bhatta and form a new government, most lawmakers of the virtually divided party in the Provincial Assembly voted for the CPN-Maoist Centre leader during a vote of confidence on Tuesday.
Consequently, Bhatta secured the majority votes that will allow his to rule the province.
Of 51 lawmakers, Bhatta secured 30 votes whereas there were nine votes against him. Twelve others abstained from voting.
Bhatta had sought the vote of confidence today after a faction of the UML officially deciding to withdraw the support extended to the government. But, it became easy for him as the bigger section of the UML backed him. The faction, supporting the party’s disgruntled leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, is already a part of Bhatta’s government.
The Sudurpaschim provincial parliamentary party of the CPN-UML had already defied the party’s central leadership‘s directive to withdraw the support extended to the government.
