Lumbini Chief Minister (CM) Shankar Pokharel has inducted Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) lawmakers, who registered no-confidence motion against him, into his Cabinet.
Lawmakers of Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center) and JSP registered the motion earlier on Monday proposing Kul Prasad KC of Maoist Center as the next CM. But Pokharel inducted four JSP lawmakers into the Cabinet to save his government.
Santosh Pandey has been appointed physical infrastructure development minister, Bijay Yadav land management, agriculture and cooperatives minister, Kalpana Pandey education and social development minister and Suman Sharma Rayamajhi minister of state for physical infrastructure development.
Lumbini Governor Dharmanath Prasad Yadav administered the oath of office and secrecy to the three ministers in presence of CM Pokharel later on Monday. CM Pokharel administered the oath of office and secrecy to the state minister in presence of the governor.
Nineteen lawmakers of NC, 17 of Maoist Center and five of JSP signed on the no-confidence motion. Four of them have been appointed ministers.
There are 87 seats in the provincial assembly of Lumbini. Ruling CPN-UML has 41 lawmakers while two Maoist Center lawmakers who joined UML have been expelled. Rashtriya Janamorcha has one lawmaker in the province.
Pokharel, a close confidant of Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli, is likely to face problems from lawmakers from the Khanal-Nepal faction of ruling UML.
The government of Karnali Chief Minister (CM) Mahendra Bahadur Shahi of Maoist Center was saved on Friday when four lawmakers of the Khanal-Nepal faction crossed the floor to vote in support of the government.
NC, Maoist Center and JSP have already registered no-confidence motion against Gandaki CM Prithvi Subba Gurung.
