KATHMANDU: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has reshuffled the cabinet in the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Oli on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Oli has inducted three new ministers in his cabinet amid speculations that it would happen anytime soon.
He has also retained the Ministry of Defense for himself.
The newly-inducted ministers will be sworn-in at 11:30 am on Thursday.
The cabinet reshuffle, which followed a series of meetings with Nepal Communist Party (NCP) senior leaders, including party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has seen three new ministers being introduced.
PM Oli has inducted Bishnu Poudel as Minister of Finance, Krishna Gopal Shrestha as Minister of Urban Development, and Leela Nath Shrestha as Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
The NCP, for the past few months, was in a crisis with the faction led by Dahal demanding a cabinet reshuffle.
Meanwhile, Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Parbat Gurung has been given the responsibility as the Minister of Information, Communications and Technology.
Meanwhile Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokhrel, who was the Minister of Defense, has been given the responsibility to oversee the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
Prachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal dissatisfied: Sources
Meanwhile, PM Oli’s decision of cabinet reshuffle has irked Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senor leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, party insiders have said.
Both the leaders have expressed dissatisfaction over the cabinet reshuffle dubbing PM Oli’s decision as “unilateral”.
The top three leaders were at loggerheads on the issue of power-sharing, particularly on the ministerial portfolios.
List of Ministers:
KP Sharma Oli: Prime Minister
Ishwar Pokharel: Council of Ministers to Deputy Prime Minister
Bishnu Paudel: Finance
Krishna Gopal Shrestha: Urban Development
Parbat Gurung: Communications and Information Technology
Leela Nath Shrestha: Women, Children and Senior Citizens
Ram Bahadur Thapa: Home Affairs
Pradeep Kumar Gyawali: Foreign Affairs
Hridesh Tripathi: Federal Affairs and General Administration
Giriraj Mani Pokharel: Education, Science and Technology
Barshaman Pun: Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation
Ghanashyam Bhusal: Agriculture and Livestock Development
Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal: Health and Population
Lekhraj Bhatta Industry, Commerce and Supplies
Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai: Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
Shakti Bahadur Basnet: Forest and Environment
Rameshwor Rai Yadav: Labour, Employment and Social Security
Jagat Bahadur Sunar (Bishwakarma): Youth and Sports
Padma Kumari Aryal: Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation
Bina Magar: Water Supply
Basanta Kumar Nembang: Physical Infrastructure and Transportation and Urban Development
Dr. Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe: Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
State Ministers
Motilal Dugad: Industry, Commerce and Supplies
Nawaraj Rawat: Health and Population
Rambir Manandhar: Urban Development
Comment