Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Indra Bahadur Baniya, leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party in Bagmati Province Assembly, has formally staked his claim for the post of Chief Minister.
Baniya submitted his claim to Province Head Deepak Prasad Devkota on Monday.
Earlier, Province Chief Devkota had invited Provincial Assembly members who could secure a majority with the backing of two or more parties to submit their claim to form the government by 2 pm on Tuesday.
Baniya submitted his claim with the backing of 64 lawmakers—37 from the Nepali Congress and 27 from the CPN-UML—which is higher than the required number of 56 for a majority in the 110-member Bagmati Province Assembly.
Jagannath Thapaliya, leader of the UML parliamentary party, was alongside Baniya during the submission of the claim.
Baniya had defeated Bahadur Singh Lama, who stepped down as Chief Minister on Sunday, in the election for the parliamentary party leader on Tuesday.
