Province 1 and Karnali Province elected new chief ministers on Tuesday after Bhim Prasad Acharya and Mahendra Bahadur Shahi resigned from the post of chief minister of Province No 1 and Karnali Province respectively on Monday.

Rajendra Rai of the CPN (Unified Socialist) has been appointed the chief minister of Province 1. He was appointed to lead the provincial executive as per Article 168 (2) of the constitution.

Province Chief Somnath Adhikari administered an oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed chief minister amid a function on Tuesday. Rai also formed a six-member Cabinet soon after his oath as the chief minister.

Chief Minister Rai appointed CPN (Maoist Centre) leader Indra Bahadur Angbo as Financial Affairs and Planning minister; Nepali Congress leader Himal Karki as Physical Infrastructure Development minister; Congress leader Kedar Karki as Internal Affairs and Law minister; and CPN (Unified Socialist) leader Jayaram Yadav as Social Development minister.

Similarly, Rai appointed Bishnu Maya Tumbahangphe of Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Mancha as the state minister for the Social Development Ministry.

Briefly talking to reporters after his oath, Chief Minister Rai said he would expand the Cabinet only after taking a vote of confidence in November second week.

“Province 1 will soon get its name. The government will expedite various development activities by seeking grants from the federal government and donor countries,” said Rai.

Former Chief Minister of Province 1 Bhim Prasad Acharya of the CPN-UML had resigned from the post following an announcement at the provincial assembly meeting on Monday after his party fell into minority. Acharya, the parliamentary party leader of the UML in Province 1 assembly, resigned only 68 days after his appointment as the chief minister. He was appointed the chief minister on August 26 after the resignation of Sherdhan Rai.

Rai had presented the candidacy for the post with the support of the five-party coalition following Province Chief Adhikari’s call on the parties to lay a stake on government formation by Tuesday 1pm.

Meanwhile, in Karnali Province, Nepali Congress leader Jiban Bahadur Shahi has been appointed as the chief minister as per article 168 (2) of the constitution.

Former Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi, the parliamentary party leader of Maoist Centre, resigned from his post on Monday as per the power-sharing deal with the five-party ruling coalition.

The newly appointed chief minister took an oath of office and secrecy from Provincial Chief Gobinda Prasad Kalauni on Tuesday evening. Shahi had earlier laid a claim to be appointed as the chief minister with the support of 21 assembly members. He has the support of 12 members of Maoist Centre, six members of Nepali Congress and three members of CPN (Unified Socialist).

The Karnali provincial assembly has 35 members at present. To form a government, one needs the support of at least 18 members.