Koshi Chief Minister Hikmat Karki on Monday secured the confidence vote amid boycott of the provincial assembly meeting by the Nepali Congress.

A motion tabled by the chief minister seeking the confidence of the assembly received 57 votes in favour, while five lawmakers abstained from voting. The chief minister got support from 39 members of the CPN-UML, 13 of the CPN (Maoist Centre), three of the CPN (Unified Socialist) and a member of Janata Samajbadi Party. Rajendra Rai, the assembly leader of Unified Socialist, was absent as he was in Kathmandu for the party’s central committee meeting.

The Unified Socialist was undecided whether to support Chief Minister Karki or not till Sunday evening. “The central leadership instructed us to vote in favour of Chief Minister Karki on Sunday midnight,” a provincial assembly member from the Unified Socialist said.

Addressing the assembly meeting, the Unified Socialist member Kamal Jagebu said that his party would sit on the opposition bench despite supporting Chief Minister Karki during the trust vote.

A total of 62 members in the 93-member assembly were present in the meeting. The Nepali Congress lawmakers snubbed the meeting as they have been protesting the chief minister's appointment, terming it unconstitutional.

The party decided not to attend the voting process, saying that the chief minister hurried for the floor test while a case against his appointment is sub-judice in the court.

Former chief minister Kedar Karki of Nepali Congress has moved the court challenging Hikmat Karki’s appointment. He has asked the court to issue mandamus, certiorari, and quo warranto orders to reinstate him as the chief minister.

On May 9, Province Head Parshuram Khapung appointed Hikmat Karki of CPN-UML as per Article 168 (5) of the constitution after the UML leader staked his claim to the post with the support of 52 lawmakers. The support of 47 lawmakers is required for a majority to form the government in the 93-strong assembly.

It is Hikmat Karki’s third stint as a chief minister and the sixth government in Koshi in 17 months after the 2022 November elections. He was elected to the provincial assembly from Jhapa Constituency 5 (A).