Biratnagar: Uddhav Thapa, a leader of the Congress party of Koshi Province, has been appointed as a chief minister for the second time on Tuesday. After Speaker Baburam Gautam resigned from his position to ensure a majority for the government formation, Province Chief Parshuram Khapung appointed Thapa as the Chief Minister.

Within 30 days of appointing the Chief Minister with the support of two or more parties, a vote of confidence is required by the constitutional provisions. After being appointed as the Chief Minister, Thapa’s government must secure the support of the RPP faction, which is inevitable for a vote of confidence. However, RPP has shown reluctance to support the coalition government, leaving their government with only 46 out of 93 members required for government formation.

UML has 40 and RPP has 6 provincial assembly members. In the situation where Gautam resigned from the post of Speaker to ensure government formation as per the Article 168 (3) of the Constitution .

While the Supreme Court was in a neutral position, Governor Khapung issued the mandate to appoint Congress party leader Uddhav Thapa as the Chief Minister on Friday. After issuing the mandate, Khapung invited Thapa for government formation. He had called for government formation, citing Article 168 (2) of the Constitution, which allows a Chief Minister to be appointed with the support of two or more parties. The appointment was made on Tuesday afternoon, as Thapa claimed to have secured the majority in the provincial assembly.