Surkhet, July 29 -- Mangal Bahadur Shahi has taken oath as the fifth chief minister of Karnali Province.

Provincial chief Yagya Raj Joshi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Shahi on Wednesday. Shahi is the parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP).

Shahi staked his claim to form the provincial government on Tuesday with the backing of the CPN-UML. In the 40-member Karnali Provincial Assembly, a party or coalition needs the support of 21 lawmakers to form a government.

Shahi has the backing of 24 lawmakers, including 14 from the NCP and 10 from the UML.

He was appointed chief minister after Yamalal Kandel resigned from the post. Kandel had led the Karnali government for the past two years, first with th...