Indra Bahadur Baniya to become Bagmati chief minister today

Indra Bahadur Baniya, the leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party, is set to become the sixth Chief Minister of Bagmati Province. His swearing-in is scheduled for 4 PM on Tuesday.

Baniya, who is also the Bagmati Province Congress president, submitted his claim to form the new government on Monday after the resignation of Bahadur Singh Lama was accepted. Provincial Head Deepak Prasad Devkota had invited claims for the new Chief Minister by 2 PM Tuesday.

Baniya submitted his claim with the support of 64 members 37 from the Nepali Congress and 27 from the UML more than the required 56 in the 110-member assembly.

The UML has finalized its ministers. Kiran Thapa Magar, who previously held the Health Ministry, will continue in the same role. Five new faces will join the cabinet: Jayaram Thapa as Minister of Labor, Employment and Transport; Bharat Bahadur KC as Minister of Forests and Environment; Madhusudan Paudel as Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development; Dr. Dinesh Chandra Devkota as Minister of Physical Infrastructure Development; and Bindu Shrestha as Minister of Industry, Commerce, Land, and Administration.

After the Chief Minister’s oath, UML ministers are also expected to be sworn in. The Congress is still finalizing its list of ministers and plans to swear them in by Tuesday evening.