Chet Narayan Acharya of the CPN-UML on Monday staked a claim for the chief ministerial post in Lumbini Province from the Nepali Congress-UML alliance.
Acharya presented his claim before Province Head Amik Sherchan with the support of 56 provincial lawmakers. Of them, 29 members are from UML and 27 from Congress.

The Province Head is preparing to appoint Acharya as chief minister this evening.

Province Head Sherchan initiated the process of forming a new government on Sunday following the resignation of Chief Minister Jokh Bahadur Mahara of the CPN (Maoist Centre).

Issuing a notice, Sherchan had asked the political parties to stake their claim on the chief ministerial position by 5pm on Monday, in accordance with Article 168(2) of the constitution.

In a sign of discontent, UML provincial assembly leader and former Chief Minister Leela Giri did not join other party leaders at the Office of the Province Head to stake a claim for the new government.

Although Giri was initially portrayed as the new chief minister, Prime Minister and UML chair KP Sharma Oli, along with General Secretary Shankar Pokharel, picked Acharya as the party’s candidate for the post. Acharya is the deputy provincial assembly leader of UML.

In Lumbini, the UML is the largest party with 29 seats followed by the Congress with 27 seats. The two parties’ strength is more than enough to prove the majority in the 87-member Lumbini provincial assembly.