Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' takes oath as Nepal's new Prime Minister

Prachanda took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bhandari at an official ceremony at Shital Niwas.

KATHMANDU: Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" was on Monday sworn in as the Prime Minister of Nepal for a third time, a day after President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed him as the new premier. The 68-year-old former guerrilla leader was appointed as the country's new prime minister after he submitted a letter to the president showing the support of 169 members in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Prachanda took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bhandari at an official ceremony at Shital Niwas.

Born in Dhikurpokhari of Kaski district near Pokhara on December 11, 1954, Prachanda remained underground for almost 13 years. He joined mainstream politics when the CPN-Maoist adopted peaceful politics, ending a decade-long armed insurgency.

He led the decade-long armed struggle from 1996 to 2006 that ultimately ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006.

The Nepali Congress is the largest party with 89 seats in the House of Representatives while CPN-UML and CPN-MC have 78 and 32 seats, respectively.

Outgoing Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday congratulated the newly-appointed Premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda". Prachanda, 68, was appointed as the new premier by President Bidya Devi Bhandari after he surprisingly walked away from the five-party ruling alliance led by Deuba's Nepali Congress and staked claim for the premier's post before the deadline set by the president expired on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Prachanda on Sunday. "Warmest congratulations @cmprachanda on being elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. The unique relationship between India and Nepal is based on deep cultural connect and warm people-to-people ties. I look forward to working together with you to further strengthen this friendship," Modi said in a tweet.