KATHMANDU, AUGUST 5

Indra Bahadur Baniya, the newly appointed Chief Minister of Bagmati Province, took the oath of office and secrecy today.

Province Chief Deepak Prasad Devkota administered the oath to CM Baniya during a ceremony held at his office in Hetauda on Tuesday afternoon. The swearing-in was conducted in accordance with Article 168 (2) of the Constitution.

Baniya had staked his claim to the Chief Minister's post on Monday, presenting the signatures of 64 Provincial Assembly members from the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML in his support.

It is learned that Chief Minister Baniya is set to form an eight-member Cabinet later today, comprising six ministers from UML and two from the Nepali Congress.