POKHARA, April 27: Nepali Congress (NC) parliamentary party leader in Gandaki Province, Surendra Raj Pandey has been appointed as the chief minister (CM) of the province.
Province Chief Prithvi Man Gurung appointed Pandey as the new CM of the province in the capacity of a member of the provincial assembly who has secured a majority with the support of two or more parties in accordance with Article 168 of the Constitution.
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New Gandaki CM Pandey said he would take the oath of office and secrecy at an auspicious time tomorrow.
The change in the balance of power in the center has triggered a change in the provinces as well. Maoist Center’s Hari Bahadur Chuman who was the Physical Infrastructure Minister and Resham Jugjali who was the Tourism Minister resigned and withdrew their support to the erstwhile provincial government led by UML’s Khagaraj Adhikari on March 24. The Adhikari government lost the vote of confidence in the provincial assembly on April 22.
There was confusion in the province as to whether to appoint the Chief Minister as per Article 168(3) or to call for the formation of a majority government as per Article 168(2). Only three days after the collapse of the erstwhile government did Province Chief Gurung call for the formation of a majority government as per Article 168(2).
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