HETAUDA, AUGUST 21 Kiran Thapa Magar of the CPN-UML has been appointed chief minister of Bagmati Province, taking charge at the head of a coalition involving the NCP, UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party. Thapa Magar took the oath of office and secrecy before Bagmati Province Chief Deepak Prasad Devkota on Thursday. The new chief minister has also formed part of his Cabinet, with Saral Sahyatri Poudel of the NCP appointed Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning; Raju Bista of the RPP Minister for Water Supply, Energy and Irrigation; Rajendra Prajapati Minister for Industry, Tourism, Labour and Transport; and Girbhadur Tamang Minister for Health and Social Development. From the UML, Bharat KC has been appointed Minister for Physical Infrastructure, while Gyan Bahadur Tamang has been given the portfolio of minister without portfolio. The 104-member Bagmati Provincial Assembly requires 53 lawmakers to form a majority. The NCP has 26 lawmakers, the UML 25 and the RPP 12, giving the three parties a combined strength of 63. The new government was formed after former Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya resigned on August 17. The province chief had set Thursday at 4pm as the deadline for parties to stake a claim to form a new government. The NCP, UML and RPP had jointly staked their claim under Thapa Magar's leadership on Wednesday. The UML had withdrawn its support for the previous government on August 6 and moved to form a new government.

The provincial assembly has 36 Nepali Congress lawmakers, 26 from the NCP, 25 from the UML, 12 from the RPP, three from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party and two from the Hamro Nepali Party. Who is Kiran Thapa Magar? Born on August 30, 1976 (B.S. 2033 Bhadra 14) in Suryabinayak Municipality-8 of Bhaktapur, Thapa Magar entered politics and social service in 2047 BS and has remained active in the field since then. He has completed education up to the Intermediate level and currently serves as vice-chair of the UML Bhaktapur District Committee. Thapa Magar was elected ward chair of Suryabinayak Municipality-8 in 2017 and also served as coordinator of the municipality's Social Development Committee. He was elected to the Bagmati Provincial Assembly from Bhaktapur-2 (1) in 2022. Before becoming chief minister, he served twice as Bagmati's health minister, from July 24, 2024 to June 2026, according to the information provided. His political career has taken him from local government leadership to the provincial assembly and ministerial office, culminating in his appointment as chief minister.