Rajendra Rai of the CPN (Unified Socialist) has been appointed the Chief Minister of Province 1 on Tuesday.

Provincial Chief Somnath Adhikari appointed Rai as per Article 168 (2) of the constitution.

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.

The Acharya-led government fell into minority after 10 of the total 51 UML members joined the CPN (Unified Socialist) led by Madhav Kumar Nepal in the 92-member provincial assembly.

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.

Despite Rai getting the support of coalition partners, the newly-appointed Chief Minister faces the daunting task of selecting ministers for his Cabinet.

CPN (Maoist Centre) has said that it will only join the government if its leader Indra Bahadur Aangbo is appointed the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning.

Likewise, the Nepali Congress has been demanding ministerial berths for its leaders. The party has demanded party chief whip Kedar Karki be appointed as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development and parliamentary party deputy leader Himal Karki be appointed as Minister for Internal Affairs and law.