Narayan Prasad Dahal Secures National Assembly Chairmanship with Strong Majority

Narayan Prasad Dahal, affiliated with the CPN (Maoist Centre), clinched victory on Tuesday as he was elected the National Assembly Chairman. The proposal endorsing Dahal for this prestigious position, presented during the upper house meeting, secured 39 votes, according to the announcement made by National Assembly vice-chair Urmila Aryal. Notably, 17 votes were cast against the proposal.

Dahal emerged as the consensus candidate from the five-party ruling alliance, reflecting a cohesive decision within the coalition. Earlier in the proceedings, a proposal to elect Yuvaraj Sharma of the Nepali Congress was voted down by a majority. Despite garnering 17 votes in favor, the proposal faced strong opposition with 39 votes against it.

Narayan Prasad Dahal, who is also the younger brother of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, was initially nominated to the National Assembly in 2022 by then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari on the recommendation of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government. His political journey, however, spans decades, with a notable start in the 1980s.