Karnali Chief Minister Raj Kumar Sharma secured a vote of confidence for the second time on Friday.

The confidence motion tabled by the chief minister at the provincial assembly meeting received 38 votes. Only a Rastriya Prajatantra Party member cast vote against Sharma.

Support from 21 members is required for a majority in the 40-member provincial assembly.

The chief minister went for a trust vote in less than three months of his appointment after the Rastriya Prajatantra Party withdrew its support to the government.

The CPN (Maoist Centre)’s provincial assembly leader Sharma was appointed the third chief minister of the province on January 11 with the support of 26 provincial assembly members.

The Congress has 14 provincial assembly members, CPN (Maoist Centre) 13, UML ten, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and CPN (Unified Socialist) one each, and one independent provincial assembly member in the Karnali assembly.