Dahal elected 39th Prime Minister of Nepal

Kathmandu, Aug. 3 : Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairman (CPN-MC) Pushpa Kamal Dahal was elected as the the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal on Wednesday, with more than 360 lawmakers voting for him.

Dahal was the sole claimant to the post of prime minister when he filed his candidacy at the Parliament Secretariat yesterday.

While presenting his plans, Dahal said that he would try to lead the nation toward economic development while moving ahead in the spirit of national consensus during his premiership, reports the Himalayan Times.

Dahal said that his candidacy itself was meant to strengthen the national consensus among parties to solve all the problems including concerns of Madhesi parties and the challenges of post-earthquake reconstruction.

He also criticised outgoing Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli for what he said in his valedictory speech in Parliament last week. Answering to some questions put forth by Oli during his speech, Dahal said the new government would give continuity to development projects and agreements signed with neighbouring nations.

Taking a jibe at Oli, he said the development projects were not actually initiated by the outgoing government, but by previous governments.

Dahal also known as Prachanda, led a guerrilla war against the government in the past and later served as prime minister of Nepal from 2008 to 2009.

Source: ANI