Province 6 has been first among the seven federal states of the country to get its name. 

A meeting of the Provincial Assembly held in Surkhet on Saturday decided to name Province 6 as Karnali. The PA meeting also designated Birendra-nagar of Surkhet district as the provincial capital. 

The historic constitution promulgated on September 20, 2015, authorises the PA to name the province and decide its capital. The Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government, on January 17, had announced Surkhet as the temporary headquarters. 

Two motions concerning the provincial name and the capital were tabled in the assembly separately for a vote. The name Karnali was endorsed by 37 of the 40 assembly members. Thirty-six provincial assembly members voted in favour of Surkhet as the provincial headquarters while one member stood against the proposal. The Speaker abstained from voting and two PA members were absent from the meeting.

CPN-UML Parliamentary Party leader Yamlal Kadel had proposed the name while Nepali Congress PP leader Jiban Bahadur Shahi had suggested Birendranagar as the provincial capital. Kadel and Shahi presented the proposal as agreed between the political parties.

“The provincial assembly was not divided in favour of or against the historic decision. It’s our great success,” said Kandel, clarifying that Province 6 is the extended form of the erstwhile Karnali Zone. CPN (Maoist Centre) member Bir Bahadur Shahi, NC member Dinbandhu Shrestha and Rastriya Prajatantra Party member Sushila Shahi had seconded Kandel’s proposal.

Shahi’s proposal to declare Birendranagar as the capital was seconded by UML PA member Gulab Jung Shah and Maoist Centre member Ganesh Prasad Singh.