Gandaki Province Head Dilliraj Bhatta on Sunday administered an oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed Chief Minister Khagaraj Adhikari.

Along with the chief minister, Hari Bahadur Chuman of the CPN (Maoist Centre) and independent provincial assembly member Rajeev Gurung alias Deepak Manange were sworn in as ministers.

The ministerial portfolios have not been assigned to the ministers. Gurung was Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development and Transport Management in the Surendra Pandey-led government.

Earlier, Province head Dilliraj Bhatt appointed Adhikari to the position as per Article 168 (2) of the Constitution after he staked a claim for the chief ministerial position with the support of a majority of provincial assembly members.

Adhikari secured the support of 31 members from the UML, which has 22 members in the assembly, the CPN (Maoist Center) that has eight including the Speaker and an independent member. To form a government in the Gandaki province, any candidate must garner the support of at least 31 members in the 60-strong provincial assembly.

The Nepali Congress had urged Province Head Bhatta not to appoint Adhikari as Chief Minister, arguing that the claim of support from the UML-Maoist alliance was unconstitutional.

The party had argued that it is against constitutional norms to assert the speaker’s support for the government when he is not even a member of the party. Additionally, the Congress cited the example of the Koshi Province to reinforce its stance.

It's Adhikari’s second stint as a chief minister. He was appointed chief minister in January last year and lost the position after failing to secure the vote of confidence during the floor test in the provincial assembly in April.

On April 3, Province Head Bhatta called on political parties represented in the provincial assembly to show a majority to stake the claim for the post of chief minister and form a government in the province within six days after Surendra Raj Pandey resigned.