Khapung set to become first province chief to complete five-year term

KATHMANDU: Koshi Province Chief Parshuram Khapung will become the first provincial head in the country to complete a full five-year term when his tenure ends on November 10.

Appointed on November 9, 2021, Khapung has remained in office despite repeated changes in the provincial government and the premature removal of other provincial chiefs appointed around the same time.

Koshi Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki paid a farewell visit to Khapung on Sunday. During the meeting, Karki thanked him for his contributions to the development and prosperity of the province.

Khapung, in turn, thanked the provincial government for the support it had extended to his office over the past five years.

Article 163 of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, provides for a province chief in each province as the representative of the federal government. Province chiefs are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the federal government.

Khapung was appointed by the coalition government led by then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on November 9, 2021, on the recommendation of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal. The Deuba-led government had also appointed Tilak Pariyar as province chief of Karnali and Devraj Joshi as province chief of Sudurpashchim on the same day. Both, however, were removed before completing their five-year terms. Pariyar was removed on July 31, 2024, while Joshi was dismissed on March 13, 2024.

Khapung’s tenure has seen multiple changes in Koshi’s provincial government. Although the province saw several chief ministers from different political coalitions during his tenure, his position has remained unchanged.

Rajendra Kumar Rai of the CPN (Unified Socialist) was chief minister when Khapung took office. Rai was replaced by CPN-UML’s Hikmat Kumar Karki on January 9, 2023. On July 7 that year, Nepali Congress (NC) leader Uddhav Thapa became chief minister.

The Supreme Court later removed Thapa, paving the way for Karki’s return to the post in September 2023. Karki subsequently failed a floor test, and another NC leader, Kedar Karki, became chief minister on October 14, 2023. Hikmat Kumar Karki replaced him as chief minister on May 9, 2024.

Khapung is the third province chief of Koshi. Govinda Subba was appointed the province’s first chief in January 2018. However, he was removed in November 2019 before completing his five-year term. Somnath Adhikari was appointed as his successor on November 4, 2019, but was also removed before completing his tenure.

Khapung replaced Adhikari on November 9, 2021, and is set to become the first provincial head to complete a full term since the country adopted the federal setup.