DANG, April 7: The newly-appointed Chief Minister (CM) of Lumbini Province, Jokh Bahadur Mahara, is set to take the oath of office and secrecy today.

Narayan Prasad Acharya, the chief private secretary of Amik Sherchan, Chief of Lumbini Province, announced that the oath-taking ceremony will commence today at 2:30 PM at the Province Chief's office in Butwal.

Following the resignation of former Lumbini Province chief minister Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, Jokh Bahadur Mahara, the leader of the Maoist Center parliamentary party in the province, was appointed as the new chief minister on Friday, garnering the support of 48 provincial assembly members.

Mahara is also set to form a small-sized Cabinet today. Sources said that preparations are being made to form a Cabinet by including at least one member from all the coalition partners.

Discussions among the leaders of the ruling parties are ongoing regarding the allocation of ministerial berths among the coalition partners. Sudarshan Baral, the head of CPN (Maoist Center) in Lumbini Province, stated that discussions regarding ministerial selection are underway.

Lumbini Province comprises 10 ministries, including the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.