Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba wins vote of confidence; PM Modi congratulates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (July 18) extended hearty congratulations to his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba after he won a crucial vote of confidence days after Nepal’s Supreme Court reinstated the Lower House of Parliament. The voting process was participated by 249 lawmakers, of which 83 voted against him while one lawmaker largely remained neutral. The proposal for the vote of trust was registered in the Parliament Secretariat on July 18, the first day of the session, and Deuba needed 136 votes to win the Parliament’s vote of confidence.

"Congratulations Prime Minister Deuba Sherbdr and best wishes for a successful tenure. I look forward to working with you to further enhance our unique partnership in all sectors, and strengthen our deep-rooted people-to-people ties,” PM Modi wrote in a tweet. 

The 75-year-old head of the Nepali Congress won165 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives that secured him a landslide victory, according to the local Kathmandu Post. "Continuous political confusion, uncertainty, instability weakens democracy," Deuba told the parliament ahead of the vote. Furthermore, he added, that it was important for Nepal to walk the road of political stability. The former secured a majority after lawmakers from Oli's party backed him. The vote was required by the court to take place within 30 days after Deuba was instated as Nepal’s Prime Minister on Tuesday (July 13), last week. The Nepalese leader’s loss to the crucial voting would have meant re-election in the Himalayan nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sworn-in as PM for the fifth time

Deuba was sworn into office as Nepal’s newly elected PM for the fifth time following months of political turmoil, as the Southeast Asian country’s apex court ousted the former PM KP Sharma Oli. He had served as the PM four times between 1995 and 2018.  In May, former Nepali PM Oli had abruptly dissolved the parliament after he was removed as Chairman of ruling NCP over allegations of corruption, mishandling of COVID-19, and tensions with the party of former Maoist rebels Pushpa Kamal Dahal, with whom he had merged to form a unified Communist Party. Nepal’s Supreme court gave orders to President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to appoint Deuba as Oli’s successor. The former won the support of 149 of the total 275-seat in the Lower House.