Lumbini Province Chief Minister Jokh Bahadur Mahara, along with three ministers, took the oath of office and secrecy on Sunday.

Province Head Amik Sherchan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Chief Minister Mahara amid a function at the Butwal-based Office of the Province Head. Alongside Mahara, ministers—Chet Narayan Acharya of the CPN-UML, Dipendra Pun of the CPN (Maoist Centre), and Bhandari Lal Ahir of the Janata Samajbadi Party—were sworn in on the occasion. However, the new ministers have not been assigned portfolios as the partners of the ruling alliance have yet to reach an agreement on ministerial allocation.

Sudarshan Baral, chair of Maoist Centre Lumbini Province chapter, said that the Cabinet would be expanded after the chief minister secured a vote of confidence. He said the portfolios would be assigned once the ruling alliance finalises a deal on ministerial allocation.

Chief Minister Mahara previously held the position of Finance Minister, while UML’s Acharya has been appointed minister for the third time. Ahir was the Minister for Agriculture and Land Management in the Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary-led government.

Mahara of the ruling Maoist Centre was appointed chief minister on Friday following the resignation by Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary after his attempts to prove majority in the provincial assembly failed.

After Chaudhary stepped down, the Maoist Centre leader staked claim to lead the new provincial government with the signatures of 48 provincial assembly members. Support of 44 members in the 87-member assembly is required for forming a government.

A total of 27 CPN-UML assembly members, 10 from the Maoist Centre, four from the Nagarik Unmukti Party, three from the Janata Samajbadi Party, one from the CPN (Unified Socialist) and one independent member supported Mahara.

Similarly, Gandaki provincial assembly leader of the UML Khagaraj Adhikari was appointed chief minister of the province on Sunday. Province head Dilliraj Bhatta 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.

After taking oath of office and secrecy, Chief Minister Adhikari expanded his Cabinet by appointing assembly leader of the Maoist Centre Hari Bahadur Chuman and independent candidate Rajiv Gurung also known as Deepak Manage. The ministers have not been assigned portfolios.

Adhikari secured the support of 31 members from the UML, which has 22 members in the assembly, the 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 expect 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 is Adhikari’s second stint as chief minister. He was appointed to the post 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, within six days following the resignation of then chief minister Surendra Raj Pandey, Province Head Bhatta called on political parties represented in the provincial assembly to stake claim to chief ministership.