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Dahal, who still goes by his nom de guerre Prachanda, meaning
"fierce", secured 268 ballots in a vote of confidence in the
275-member parliament.
Nevertheless, his seven-party coalition may find it hard to
govern as many of the allies have conflicting interests on
looming issues including problems of secularism, the shape of
the federal government and the distribution of citizenship ID
cards.
The new administration also faces mounting economic challenges
including high inflation; a decline in foreign exchange reserves
as the price of food and energy imports soars; and a low tax
base that limits state spending on critical infrastructure.
Nepal has had 11 governments since 2008, when its 239-year-old
monarchy was abolished, and the instability has undermined
business and investment.
Dahal, 68, heads the Maoist Centre, which emerged as the third
biggest party with 32 seats. It will govern with the support of
other parties including, principally, the Communist Unified
Marxist-Leninist (UML) party with its 79 seats.
Dahal had quit a pre-poll alliance with the Nepali Congress,
which won the election with 89 seats, after it refused to
nominate him for prime minister. The coalition agreement
provides for the UML to take the premier's role after half of
the scheduled five-year term.
In a speech to lawmakers, he noted that "there is
dissatisfaction among people with our work".
"I stand here to reverse this," he said, promising to work for
stability and economic progress, as well as a "pro-Nepal"
foreign policy of "balanced, trustworthy and friendly" relations
with all countries including giant neighbours China and India.
Dahal led Maoist rebels during a decade-long conflict between
1996 and 2006 that caused 17,000 deaths.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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