Prime Minister (PM) Sher Bahadur Deuba looks unlikely to expand the Cabinet for another week.
Leaders of the ruling coalition have been meeting at Baluwatar to discuss Cabinet expansion almost every day but they have yet to agree on the details. The latest meeting on Tuesday also ended stating that the coalition will take a decision on the issue after another meeting.
Nepali Congress (NC) leaders say Deuba will wait until September 7, the deadline the Election Commission has given to CPN-UML provincial lawmakers and local representatives to join CPN (Unified Socialist), to expand the Cabinet. Deuba has reportedly told Senior Leader of NC Ram Chandra Paudel that he will expand the Cabinet only after that.
The Paudel faction held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the name of ministers from the faction and a unanimous candidate for party president in the upcoming general convention.
Paudel briefed the leaders that Deuba will not expand the Cabinet for another week, according to central member Bal Bahadur KC who attended the meeting. KC added that the leaders subsequently did not discuss much about the name of ministers.
The faction instead focused on finding consensus candidate for president before the ward convention on September 3 and decided to meet again on Wednesday.
Paudel, General Secretary Shashank Koirala, former general secretary Prakash Man Singh and central memebr Shekhar Koirala are the major aspirants for the top post from the faction.
