Pokhara, May 6 -- The Speaker of Gandaki provincial assembly on Sunday declared that Chief Minister Khagaraj Adhikari secured the trust vote, triggering yet another controversy regarding the majority number in the 60-strong provincial assembly.

Amid protest from the opposition party, Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital announced that the votes obtained by the chief minister constituted a majority based on the Supreme Court's recent ruling.

As the Speaker tabled the motion for decision, a total of 30 members voted in favour of Chief Minister Adhikari. Then the Speaker claimed that the number was sufficient to prove the majority in the 60-member assembly.

During the floor test, 22 members from the CPN-UML, seven from the CPN (Maoist Centre) an...