Nepal PM ‘Prachanda’ to take vote of confidence in parliament on January 10

Prachanda needs 138 votes in the 275-member parliament to continue his term as the prime minister

Nepal's newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' would seek a vote of confidence in the parliament on January 10, amid uncertainty over the support from his allies.

The 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre leader was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader K.P. Sharma Oli.

Nepal's first Parliament session after the appointment of Prime Minister Mr. Prachanda began in Kathmandu on Monday.

The Nepali Congress — the largest political party in parliament — is likely to vote in support of Mr.Prachanda while staying on the opposition bench, My Republica newspaper reported.

Prime Minister Mr. Prachanda on Monday met Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba and sought his support in parliament, the paper said.

"Mr. Deuba has said that our party will take a decision whether to support the new government after the parliamentary party meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning,” a leader close to Mr. Deuba was quoted as saying by the paper.

NC Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka and Krishna Prasad Situala were present when Mr. Prachanda held a meeting with Mr. Deuba.