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A meeting of the high-level political mechanism held on Friday discussed contemporary political issues among others. During the meeting held in Baluwatar this morning, the leaders discussed contemporary political issues, giving full shape to the government and presidential election to be held on March 9. On the occasion, the leaders of the mechanism urged the Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane to join the government again. Albeit the RSP has left the government, it has not withdrawn the support extended to the government. CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden were present in the meeting. Leaders of Janata Samajbadi Party, Nagarik Unmukti Party and Janamat Party, who are in the mechanism, did not take part in the meeting. The exit of Rastriya Swatantra Party from the government and the Nagarik Unmukti Party not giving a vote of confidence to the Sudurpaschim Province government shows that there is a dispute within the ruling coalition. The senior leaders also discussed the ways to resolve the issue.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra is arriving in Kathmandu on a two-day official visit to Nepal on Monday. He is visiting Nepal at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal. According to a source, Kwatra, India's former envoy to Nepal, is visiting Nepal to fix the date and agenda of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s India visit. This will be the first stand alone visit of the Foreign Secretary to Nepal since he assumed charge. "The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and the priority India attaches to its relations with Nepal under its 'Neighbourhood First' Policy," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of Government of India. During the visit, the two Foreign Secretaries will hold discussions on the entire range of multifaceted cooperation between India and Nepal. India has historical and civilizational linkages with Nepal and bilateral cooperation between the two countries has strengthened in the recent years, with several major infrastructure and cross-border connectivity projects completed with India's assistance, the statement read. "This will be an opportunity to further advance out bilateral ties," the statement further read.

Kamal Bahadur Shah of the Nepali Congress has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province. Chief Minister Rajendra Singh Rawal-led government was toppled after he failed to secure a vote of confidence today. He submitted the resignation letter to Province Chief Dev Raj Joshi today itself. Later, the Province Chief appointed Shah as the Chief Minister in accordance with Article 168 (3) of the Constitution. Shah also has to seek a vote of confidence within a month.

Sudurpaschim Province Chief Minister Rajendra Singh Rawal failed to secure a vote of confidence in the National Assembly on Thursday. Majority of the lawmakers voted against the motion Rawal tabled in the National Assembly meeting today. After Rawal lost the trust motion, he has automatically been relieved of his post. He was appointed as the Chief Minister from the CPN-UML. Rawal failed to secure the vote of confidence after the lawmakers of the Nagarik Unmukti Party, which had extended support to the government, remained absent in the meeting. The Party has been saying that it would not give a vote of confidence until Resham Chaudhary is released.