Pushpa Bhusal has been elected as the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.

A common candidate of the ruling coalition, Bhusal defeated Bidhya Bhattarai of the CPN-UML to become the deputy speaker of the Parliament. Bhusal is the whip of Nepali Congress.

Sher garnered 148 votes while her nearest rival Bhattarai secured 93 votes. One lawmaker stayed neutral.

Also a member of the Constituent Assembly, Bhusal had played an important role in formulating the constitution.

The post of deputy speaker had been lying vacant after the then deputy speaker Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe resigned from her post on January 20, 2020.

There are 271 lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

One has to obtain 136 votes to be elected as the deputy speaker of the Parliament.

The ruling coalition has 154 lawmakers while the main opposition CPN-UML has 98 lawmakers. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which has one lawmaker, supported the UML.