Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah has won a vote of confidence in the provincial assembly, securing his position amid growing political tensions.

In Thursday’s floor test, 30 lawmakers voted in favour of Shah, while 15 opposed the motion. A total of 45 members participated in the voting.

Shah, a leader of the Nepali Congress, received support from all 18 Congress lawmakers and 11 from coalition partner CPN-UML. He also secured the backing of Kailash Chaudhary, a lawmaker from the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) aligned with the Ranjita Shrestha faction.

However, another NUP lawmaker, Khushiram Dagoura Tharu, aligned with the Resham Chaudhary faction, voted against the motion.

The floor test was required after the NUP withdrew its support for the provincial government earlier this month.

Despite the internal split within NUP, Shah managed to secure a clear majority in the 53-member assembly, where 27 votes are needed to command a majority.

Shah, who returned to office in August 2024 for a second term, previously served as chief minister from February 2023 to April 2024.