Bhim Acharya elected as PP leader in Province 1

BIRATNAGAR: CPN-UML has elected Bhim Acharya as the leader of the Parliamentary Party (PP) in Province 1.

Acharya has been unanimously elected as the leader of the PP on the proposal of Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai.

UML is preparing to make Acharya the new Chief Minister today itself.

UML Secretary Bhim Acharya who severed ties with leader Madhav Kumar Nepal will be appointed as the PP leader and then Chief Minister of Province 1.

According to sources, Acharya will be administered an oath of office and secrecy today itself.

In the 93-member Province Assembly of Province 1, there are 92 lawmakers, currently. Of them, UML has 51 lawmakers including a speaker, while the other lawmaker Gulephun Khatun is at large after being convicted of a criminal case.

Forty-seven lawmakers are necessary for a majority in the provincial assembly. Opposition alliance needs additional eight to nine lawmakers to form a new government against the incumbent one.

Similarly, Nepali Congress (NC) has 21 lawmakers, CPN (Maoist Center) 15, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) 3, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Federal Democratic Forum (FDF) have one each.