Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' named 39th Prime Minister of Nepal
Politics
World
Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairperson (CPN-MC) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on 4 August 2016 was elected the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal.
Dahal was the sole claimant to the post of Prime Minister, when he filed his candidacy at the Parliament Secretariat on 2 August 2016.
Dahal was elected Prime Minister with 363 votes in favour and 210 against him. Out of the total 595 members, 22 did not vote. He was backed by the largest party in the House, Nepali Congress, constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front and the Federal Alliance.
Who is Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'?
• Pushpa Kamal Dahal had served as the Prime Minister of the country from 2008 to 2009.
• He led the CPN (M) as it launched a communist insurgency on 13 February 1996. In the ensuing civil war, more than 17000 Nepalese died.
• He resigned as Prime Minister on 4 May 2009 after his attempt to sack the army chief, General Rookmangud Katawal, was opposed by President Ram Baran Yadav.
• He is also widely known by his nom de guerre ‘Prachanda’, a name he went by during his guerrilla days.
