Key Takeaways:

• Bhatta wins confidence vote with 31 of 46 lawmakers present
• Backed by 20 NCP and 11 UML members in the 53-member assembly
• 14 Congress lawmakers and one RPP member opposed; three Congress absent
• Bhatta became CM after Congress-led govt collapsed following UML's withdrawal

DHANGADHI, AUGUST 19 Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Khag Raj Bhatta secured a vote of confidence on Wednesday, winning the support of 31 lawmakers in the 53-member Provincial Assembly. Of the 46 lawmakers present at the meeting, 31 voted in favour of Bhatt's government and 15 against it. The government received the backing of 20 lawmakers from the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and 11 from the CPN-UML. Fourteen Nepali Congress lawmakers and one Rastriya Prajatantra Party member voted against the motion, while three Congress lawmakers were absent. Bhatta, parliamentary party leader of the NCP, was appointed Sudurpaschim's fifth chief minister on Friday following an agreement between the NCP and UML to share power. The change in the governing coalition had left the Congress-led government in a minority, prompting then-Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah to resign on Thursday. The vote of Confidence has now provided Bhatta's government with the required backing to continue in office.