Karki appointed new Koshi Chief Minister

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 15: Leader of Nepali Congress, Kedar Karki, has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Koshi province. He has obtained the required majority needed to become the chief minister of the province, the Office of the Province Chief confirmed. 

Karki is the sixth chief minister of Koshi. He garnered the support of 47 members of the provincial assembly which is the majority for the 93-member House. He was successful to draw the support from 39 members of the assembly from the CPN-UML.

Along with Kedar Karki, Indra Bahadur Angbo of the CPN (Maoist Centre) had also claimed for the Chief Ministership. 

On Friday, they both presented the support 47-47 MPs for each so the Provincial Chief had fixed time for the identification of the supporters of both the candidates. 

After the confirmation of the majority through the identification process, Parshuram Khapung appointed Karki as the Chief Minister of the province according to Article 168 (5) of the constitution. 

No one was present for the identification of supporters for Maoist Centre’s Angbo. Following the top leadership of the NC forged agreement with the CPN (MC) to elect Angbo as the CM of the province, dissatisfied Dr. Shekhar Koirala faction of the party had fielded its candidate with the support from the CPN-UML. 

Earlier, Karki was defeated as the candidate to become the leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party as he could gain support from nine members out of 29. 

He said that the decision to forge collaboration with the UML was made to save the province from the mid-term elections. 

Karki was born in Okhaldhunga district on 22 December 1973. He became the chairman of Nepal Students Union, an NC-affiliated student wing, in Janata Higher Secondary School in Inaruwa at the age of 14. 

He was briefly jailed during the People’s Movement in 2006. He was elected to the provincial assembly from Morang election constituency 6(2).