Cabinet expansion unlikely today as coalition parties fail to agree on portfolio distribution

KATHMANDU: The ruling coalition parties could not agree on distribution of ministerial portfolios, making cabinet expansion unlikely Thursday.

The cabinet will not be expanded Thursday despite the ruling coalition parties finalizing the names of the ministers.

The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) had agreed to take eight ministries, the CPN-Maoist Center five, the Unified Socialist and the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) four each.

According to the sources, the cabinet could not be expanded on Thursday due to disagreement between the parties over distribution of ministerial portfolios. The ruling coalition parties held discussions on the issue earlier Thursday.

Sources said the cabinet was likely to be expanded on Friday. Earlier, the Unified Socialist party also expressed dissatisfaction over the distribution of ministries.

Meanwhile, the meeting of ruling coalition parties Thursday afternoon agreed to entrust the Unified Socialist with the government of Province 1 and Bagmati Province. Unified Socialist Chair Nepal agreed to lead the government in the two provinces.