President Bidhya Devi Bhandari appointed CPN-Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal as the new prime minister under Article 76 (2) of the constitution after he submitted a list of 169 lawmakers who supported him. Dahal broke away from the five-party ruling alliance to form a new seven-party alliance joining hands with the KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML after the Nepali Congress refused to let Dahal lead the next government. The new alliance includes the CPN-UML and has 166 lawmakers, apart from three independents – Amresh Kumar Singh, Prabhu Sah, and Kiran Kumar Sah. To become PM, a member of the House of Representatives needs the support of only 138 lawmakers to become the prime minister.
NC leaders had been trying to convince Dahal that they would allow him to lead the government in the second half of the five-year term, but Dahal was adamant on leading the government first. Dahal will have to seek the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives within the next 30 days. He will take the oath of office and secrecy from the president today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on being elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. In a tweet, Mr. Modi said, the unique relationship between India and Nepal is based on deep cultural connections and warm people-to-people ties. Mr. Modi said, he is looking forward to working together with the Nepalese Prime Minister to further strengthen this friendship.
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