Lumbini Province Chief Minister Leela Giri has been ousted from his position after failing to secure the vote of confidence on Monday.

A meeting of the Lumbini provincial assembly rejected the vote of confidence motion tabled by the chief minister by a majority vote.

Chief Minister Giri only received 33 votes in his favour in the 87-strong provincial assembly. A minimum of 44 votes was required to pass the floor test.

A total of 53 lawmakers voted against the motion.

Giri sought the confidence of the provincial assembly as per Article 168(4) of the Constitution for the second time after the CPN (Moist Centre) and the coalition parties withdrew their support to the government on March 26.

Preparation for the formation of a new provincial government under the leadership of Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary of the Nepali Congress is already in the works.

“We request the process for the formation of a new government to start today itself,” said Lumbini Province Head Amik Sherchan. “A new province chief will be elected by Wednesday at the earliest.”

UML provincial assembly leader Giri, who became chief minister on January 11 with the support of the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the coalition parties, had secured a vote of confidence on January 19.

Earlier, Gandaki province chief Khaga Raj Adhikari and Sudurpaschim province chief Rajendra Singh Rawal also lost their position after failing to secure the vote of trust.