Sudur Paschim Chief Minister Bhatta wins confidence motion

KAILALI, June 8: The Sudur Paschim Government led by Chief Minister Trilochan Bhatta has won the confidence motion. 

CM Bhatta, who tabled the proposal at the province assembly meeting on Tuesday seeking trust vote, garnered a total of 30 votes out of 39 which were cast. Nine other votes were against him while 12 province assembly members belonging to the Nepali Congress (NC) opted to remain neutral during Tuesday’s voting. 

In the 52-member province assembly, CM Bhatta required 26 votes to remain intact as the executive head of the province. A faction of the CPN-UML close to senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal voted in favor of Bhatta while another faction close to Prime Minister and UML Chairman Oli voted against him. 

Bhatta sought a trust vote as the Standing Committee of the UML decided to withdraw its support earlier extended to him. The parliamentary party of the UML in the province, however, decided to vote for Bhatta.