New Delhi, Aug 29: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has congratulated Baburam Bhattarai on being elected as the new Prime Minister of Nepal.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vishnu Prakash tweeted: "PM warmly felicitates Mr. Bhattarai as Nepali Prime Minister, Wishes him all success in consolidating democratic gains made by Nepali people."

Bhattarai is a fourth communist to hold the post of the Prime Minister since Nepal became a republic in 2008.

Baburam Bhattarai from the Unified Communist Party of Nepal Maoist defeated Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress Party after winning the support of several smaller parties.

Bhattarai, 57, was born into a lower-middle-class family in a remote village in central Nepal.

He attended the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, where he received a PhD in architecture.

In 1981, while still in India, he joined the Communist Party of Nepal. (ANI)