Chief Minister of Gandaki province Surendra Raj Pandey has won the vote of confidence from the provincial assembly.
Chief Minister Pandey tabled a motion for vote of confidence according to Article 168 (4) of the Constitution and Rule 150 of the Provincial Assembly Regulations during the provincial assembly meeting held on Monday afternoon.
According to Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital, a total of 59 lawmakers were present during Monday’s provincial assembly meeting. Among them, 31 lawmakers voted for the motion and 28 voted against it.
The provincial assembly has 27 lawmakers from NC, 22 from UML, 8 including the speaker from Maoist Center, 2 from RPP and independent lawmaker Rajeev Gurung.
Support of 31 lawmakers is required to secure a majority in the 60-member Gandaki provincial assembly.
Twenty-seven lawmakers of Nepali Congress, two lawmakers of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and independent lawmaker Rajeev Gurung also voted for Chief Minister Pandey.
Nepal Samajwadi Party (NSP) lawmaker Phanindra Devkota, who contested on CPN (Maoist Center)’s symbol and won the election from the Gorkha-2(a) provincial assembly constituency in 2022, crossed the floor to vote for Chief Minister Pandey. Devkota is close to NSP Chairman Baburam Bhattrai. NSP contested the 2022 elections on Maoist Center’s symbol.
Lawmakers of CPN-UML and Maoist Center surrounded the well and chanted slogans for some time after Devkota crossed the floor.
