Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka “Prachanda,” has reached the President’s office with the list of ministers who will be sworn in today, the PM Secretariat sources told. The Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation planned the 7th Cabinet reshuffle after coming to power last December.
Abdul Khan, who was supposed to remain the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation from the Janamat Party, has now tendered his resignation to Dahal, expressing dissatisfaction over the allocation of ministries in the 7th round of cabinet reshuffle within the last three months.
A new coalition of 10 parties was formed after the PM took the vote of confidence on March 20 and had to expand the cabinet because two other parties deserted the earlier coalition.
Prime Minister Dahal is planning to swear in all the ministers by 3 PM (local time) today, the PM Secretariat sources confirmed.
With swearing-in set for 3 PM (NST), the final name list of the ministers is yet to be ascertained. Till 2 PM (NST), Dahal has planned to induct Purna Bahadur Khadka, Prakash Sharan Mahat, Ramesh Rijal, and Sita Gurung onto the cabinet.
Khadka will be taking the post of Deputy Prime Minister as well as Defence Minister, Mahat as Finance Minister, Rijal as Industry, Trade, and Commerce Minister, and Gurung as Urban Development Minister.
From the Maoist Centre, Narayan Kaji Shrestha will be assigned as Home Minister as well as the Deputy Prime Minister. Shakti Basnet will serve as Energy Minister, while Rekha Sharma will remain in the post as Communications Minister. Likewise, Sudan Kirati will continue as Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Minister, and Amanlal Modi will be assigned to the Ministry of Federal Affairs.
From the CPN- Unified Socialist Party, Beduram Bhusal will be the Agriculture Minister, and Prakash Jwala will become the Physical Infrastructure Minister. Ashok Rai from the Janata Samajbadi party will be education minister, while Sharad Singh Bhandari from the Loktantrik Samajbadi party will be the labour minister.
Ranjita Shrestha from the Nagarik Unmukti Party will be the land reform minister, while Mahindra Raya Yadav will be the minister for women, children, and senior citizens. A week after securing the confidence of the House for the second time, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is still struggling to expand his cabinet.
And it may take a few more days for the prime minister to appoint the ministers if the statements of key leaders of the coalition partners are to be believed, the Kathmandu Post reported. As Dahal has been overseeing 16 ministries on his own, it shows the complexity of power sharing among the coalition partners.