AMN/ KATHMANDU
CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Nepal for the third time.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed Prachanda as the prime minister as per Article 76 (2) of the constitution this evening.
According to the sources,Prachanda along with CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma Oli, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Ravi Lamichhane, Rastriya Prajatantra Party chief Rajendra Lingden among other top leaders earlier went to the President’s Office with a proposal to appoint him as the new Prime Minister, .
Dahal has the support of 169 members, including 78 from the CPN-UML, 32 from his own Maoist Centre party and 20 from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, apart from 14 of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, 12 from the Janata Samajbadi Party, six from Janamat Party, and four from Nagarik Unmukti Party. He also secured the backing of independent lawmakers Prabhu Sah, Kiran Kumar Sah and Amresh Kumar Singh.
President Bhandari had called the parties representing the House of Representatives to claim the prime ministerial position as per Article 76(2) of the constitution within 5pm Sunday.
Breaking the coalition led by the largest party Nepali Congress, Dahal joined hands with the second largest party UML after Congress President and outgoing prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba refused to allow him to lead the government for the first half of the five-year term.