Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah garnered a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly on Wednesday.

The motion seeking the trust vote by the chief minister received 36 votes in the 53-member assembly.

The chief minister was supported by 18 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, 11 from the CPN-UML, and seven from the Nagarik Unmukti Party.

The support of 27 members is required to command a majority in the provincial assembly.

Lawmakers from the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the CPN (Unified Socialist) voted against Shah, while those from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party remained absent. Also, six of the 10 Maoist lawmakers remained absent. One independent lawmaker cast a vote in the ‘none of the above’ option.

This is Shah's second term as the chief minister. He had earlier headed the provincial government for 14 months from February 9, 2023, to April 4 this year.

Shah was appointed the chief minister on August 4.