KATHMANDU: In a dramatic turn of political events Monday, Lumbini Province Chief Minister Shankar Pokharel has inducted four Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) leaders into the Provincial Cabinet.
Three of the four newly-appointed Ministers earlier in the day were part of a signature campaign to file no-confidence motion against CM Pokharel.
Chief of Lumbini Province Dharma Nath Yadav has administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly-appointed Ministers Bijay Yadav, Santosh Pandey, Suman Rayamajhi and Kalpana Pandey. Only Kalpana Pandey had not signed in the no-confidence motion as she is close to JSP central council chairman Mahantha Thakur.
Santosh Pandey has been assigned the portfolio of Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, Bijay Yadav the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperative, and Kalpana Pandey has received the Ministry of Education and Social Development. Likewise, Suman Rayamajhi has been made the State Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development.
Earlier in the day, lawmakers of Nepali Congress, Maoist Center, JSP, Rastriya Janamorcha (RJM) had initiated a signature campaign to oust Chief Minister Pokharel through the no confidence motion.
In the 85-member Lumbini Province Assembly, ruling CPN-UML has 41 lawmakers, NC (19), Maoist Center (17), JSP (6) and RJM (1). Of them 42 lawmakers from NC (19), Maoist Center (17), JSP (5) and RJM (1) had signed in the no confidence motion against Pokharel.
The no-confidence was filed as the CPN (Maoist Center) pulled out of the government in the province. Two Maoist lawmakers who were Ministers in the Provincial Cabinet also resigned after their party withdrew support to Lumbini government.
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