Nepal's ex-guerrilla chief set to become new prime minister

FILE PHOTO: Former Prime Ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, who is opposing the current Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, also known as K.P. Oli, take part in a mass gathering against the dissolution of parliament, in Kathmandu, Nepal February 10, 2021. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A former Maoist guerrilla who led a decade-long insurgency against Nepal's Hindu monarchy will take over as prime minister in alliance with the main opposition after last month's election returned a hung parliament, party officials said on Sunday.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who still goes by his nom de guerre Prachanda - meaning "terrible" or "fierce" – will head the new government for the first half of the five-year term with the support of the opposition Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party and some other smaller groups.