Himal Press 
Leaders of four parties submitting a claim to form government to Province Chief Parshuram Khapung.
ITAHARI: Uddhab Thapa has been appointed as the fifth Chief Minister of Koshi Province.
Province Chief Parshuram Khapung appointed Thapa, who is the parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Congress (NC) in the Koshi Province Assembly, to the post shortly after he submitted a claim for government formation with the support of the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP).
Thapa has the backing of 47 assembly members – 29 from the NC, 13 from the Maoist Center, four from the Unified Socialist, and one from the JSP.
Parties need the support of 47 members to form a government in the 93-member Koshi Province Assembly.
Thapa was previously appointed Chief Minister on July 6 with the support of these four parties. As the four-party coalition only had the backing of 46 members, he had also used the signature of Speaker Babu Ram Gautam to make a claim for government formation. However, the Supreme Court invalidated the government last Thursday, ruling that the Speaker, who is supposed to be neutral, cannot extend his support for government formation.
Following the apex court’s decision, Province Chief Khapung began the fresh process of forming a government as per Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal. This time, Thapa obtained the required support of 47 members by making Speaker Gautam resign from his post.
