SURKHET, April 16 -- Chief minister of Karnali Province, Mahendra Bahadur Shai won a vote of confidence in the provincial assembly on Friday.

As four lawmakers of the CPN-UML - Ammar Bahadur Thapa, Prakash Jwala, Kurmaraj Shahi and Nanda Singh Budha - crossed the floor during the voting held on Friday, Shahi garnered a total of 22 votes - enough to win the confidence of the provincial assembly.

The provincial assembly members who crossed the floor in today's voting belong to the UML faction led by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal. Of them, Jwala was the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, and Budha was the Minister for Industry, Forest and Environment in the Shahi-led Cabinet before they tendered their resignations on April 6. ...