KATHMANDU: The CPN-Unified Socialist provincial parliamentary party (PP) leader Rajendra Rai has submitted claim for the post of Chief Minister in Province 1.

As soon as the Chief of Province 1 Somnath Adhikari ‘Pyasi’ called on political parties to submit claim for the formation of a government, Unified Socialist leader Rai submitted the claim with the signatures of 49 Province Assembly (PA) members, informed the Office of the Province 1 Chief.

Rai is backed by provincial lawmakers of the Nepali Congress (NC), the CPN-Maoist Center and the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP). The signatures of 47 PA members are required to form a government in the province.

CPN-UML has only 41 MPs in the  province assembly. The opposition alliance has 21 MPs from NC, 15 from the Maoist Center, 10 from the Rai’s Unified Socialist, three from JSP and one from the Democratic Socialist Party.

With NC, Maoist Center and JSP to back leader Unified Socialist in the province, Rai has enough votes to prove is majority in the Province Assembly.

The province chief is preparing to administer the oath of office to Rai on Tuesday. Rai said he would form a cabinet comprising fewer Ministers after taking oath of office.

Earlier, Chief Minister Bhim Acharya, the last Chief Minister representing UML, resigned from the post before a vote could take place on vote of confidence motion at the PA.