Far-West. KATHMANDU: Nepali Communist Party (NCP) Parliamentary Party leader Khagaraj Bhatta has been appointed chief minister of Sudurpaschim Province.

According to Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, Province Chief Nazir Miya appointed him as the Chief Minister. Bhatta became the fifth Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province.

Bhatta became the fifth Chief Minister after Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah resigned from the post of Chief Minister of the Communist Party of Nepal.

Four chief ministers in four years

Trilochan Bhatta of the then CPN (Maoist Centre) was the chief minister of the province for the first term of the province. In the second term of the provincial assembly, four chief ministers have been appointed so far.

Rajendra Singh Rawal was the first chief minister of the state for the second term. He had served from Poush 28, 2079 BS to Magh 26 of the same year. After that, Kamal Bahadur Shah, the parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Congress, was appointed as the chief minister from February 11 to April 10, 2081 and Dirgha Bahadur Sodari was appointed as the chief minister from April 19 to August 20, 2081. Kamal Bahadur Shah of the Congress became the Chief Minister for the second time. He became chief minister for the first time in one year, four months and eight days and for the second time in two years and eight days. Shah resigned from his post on Thursday following a change in the power equation.

Thus, the process of government formation and dissolution has been going on in the Far-West since the beginning of the second term of the Provincial Assembly. Since no single party has a single majority here, the political equation formed at the center has a direct impact.

The NCP has 22 members in the 53-member Provincial Assembly, while the UML has 11 members. There are 18 members from the Nepali Congress and one from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party. There are now 52 members after one member of the provincial assembly resigned from the post.