KATHMANDU, Jan. 11 -- NC among 10 major political parties in parliament that voted in favor of PM Dahal

The CPN-UML-the second largest political party in parliament-that broke the erstwhile ruling alliance led by Nepali Congress (NC) to form a new government led by the distant third party, CPN (Maoist Center), has significantly lost its 'bargaining power' in the new power-sharing equilibrium as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday won vote of confidence with support of several 'opposition' parties including the Nepali Congress (NC).

Maoist Center Chairman Dahal, who was appointed as the prime minister with the support of only 169 of the total 275 lawmakers on December 25, received an overwhelming 268 votes in a rather surprising...