Koshi CM Karki secures vote of confidence; all parties but RPP vote for him

Published On: October 18, 2023 04:42 PM NPT By: Binod Subedi

KATHMANDU, Oct 18: Kedar Karki, the chief minister (CM) of Koshi Province, has secured a vote of confidence. During the voting held at the provincial assembly on Wednesday, a total of 86 votes were cast in favor of Karki, while only 5 votes were cast against him.

All the parties in the provincial assembly, except for the five provincial assembly members of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), voted in favor of Chief Minister Karki.

Karki, a provincial assembly member from the Nepali Congress (NC), had claimed the support of 8 NC provincial assembly members and 39 provincial assembly members of the UML during the government formation.

Karki, a leader closely associated with the NC rival faction led by Dr Shekhar Koirala, was appointed as the Chief Minister on October 14 after 48 provincial assembly members supported his bid for chief minister.

While there were apprehensions that Karki's appointment as the CM with UML's support could break the ruling alliance at the center, a meeting held between Prime Minister and Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and NC rival faction leader Dr Koirala, agreed to continue the current ruling alliance.