Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav, a senior Madhesi leader, was on Monday sworn in as Nepal’s third Vice President, days after he comfortably defeated a candidate fielded by the CPN-UML. At a special ceremony at Sheetal Niwas, the President’s Office, President of Nepal Ram Chandra Poudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to 52-year-old Yadav.
Yadav, a candidate from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), defeated his nearest rival, Ashta Laxmi Shakya of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) [CPN-UML] led by former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, by a comfortable margin in the election for the post held on March 17. He becomes the Himalayan nation’s third Vice President and the first from the Madhes region, bordering India. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire, former prime ministers, ministers, and Members of Parliament were among the dignitaries present at the occasion.