Nepali Congress provincial assembly leader Surendraraj Pandey has been appointed Gandaki chief minister on Wednesday.

Province Head Dilliraj Bhatta appointed Pandey to the position as per Article 168 (3) of the constitution following the Supreme Court’s order.

The Supreme Court on Monday removed Khagaraj Adhikari as the chief minister, terming the vote of confidence he took in the first week of May unconstitutional.

A division bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel had ordered the Gandaki Provincial head to appoint Pandey as the new chief minister within 48 hours.

The bench had issued a mandamus order to appoint Pandey to the position as per the constitutional provision, which stipulates that the province head shall appoint the parliamentary party leader of the party with the highest number of members in the provincial assembly as the chief minister if the chief minister, appointed with the support of two or more parties, fails to win a trust vote within 30 days.

Pandey had moved the court challenging the chief minister’s vote of confidence in the provincial assembly on May 5. He had also sought the apex court to issue an order to appoint him chief minister.

It’s Pandey’s second stint as chief minister. On April 27, 2023, Pandey was appointed chief minister of the province. He resigned a year later.

After the formation of a new four-party coalition in Kathmandu, the CPN (Maoist) withdrew its support to the Gandaki provincial government led by Pandey on March 6, leaving the government in the minority. As per the constitutional provision, the chief minister needed to secure a confidence vote within 30 days after the support was withdrawn. But Pandey has chosen to resign instead of facing the assembly.