Newly appointed Chief Minister in the Lumbini Province Jokh Bahadur Mahara took the oath of office and secrecy on Sunday.

Province Chief Amik Sherchan administered the oath of office and secrecy amidst a function held at the Butwal-based Office of the Province Chief.

The Province Chief appointed Mahara to the post per Article 168(2) of the Constitution. He is the fifth chief minister of the Lumbini Province.

The post of chief minister remained vacant with the resignation of Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary on April 4.

The following day on April 5, Mahara presented his claim for the chief minister with the support of 48 PA members: 47 from five political parties and one independent.

Mahara, who is also serving as the standing committee member of the CPN (Maoist Centre), was born on October 18, 1963, in Sunil Smriti Rural Municipality-5 in Rolpa to Ramita Mahara (mother) and Khal Bahadur Mahara (father).

He represents the Rolpa constituency-1(A) in the Lumbini PA. He was the Minister for Economic Affairs in last year's government led by UML's Parliamentary Party leader for the province, Lila Giri.

Meanwhile, the chief minister formed a small Cabinet today itself, inducting CPN-UML's Chet Narayan Acharya, CPN (Maoist Center)'s Dipendra Bahadur Pun, and Janata Samajbadi Party's Bhandari Lal Ahir as ministers without portfolio.

The newly appointed ministers also took the oath today.