BIRATNAGAR: CPN-UML Secretary Bhim Acharya has taken the oath of office and secrecy as the new Chief Minister of Province 1.

Acharya, who was unanimously elected as the leader of the Parliamentary Party (PP) at a meeting of the Province-1 parliamentary party on Thursday morning, was sworn in as the Chief Minister by State Chief Somnath Adhikari Pyasi.

UML Secretary Bhim Acharya who severed ties with leader Madhav Kumar Nepal was earlier elected as the PP leader of Province 1.

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.