CPN (Unified Socialist) has finalized the names of ministers while Nepali Congress (NC) and Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) have closed in on the names of ministers as Prime Minister (PM) Sher Bahadur Deuba looks to expand the Cabinet Friday.
Deuba, who was appointed PM on July 13, has not been able to complete the Cabinet in almost three months and has inducted just three ministers from Nepali Congress (NC) and two from Maoist Center and a state minister from NC.
Birodh Khatiwada, Ram Kumari Jhakri, Prem Ale and Kisan Shrestha will be ministers from the newly registered party while Bhawani Khapung will be state minister.
The party led by Madhav Kumar Nepal has finalized the names after discussion till late Thursday night, according to a standing committee member. "This is the list of ministers from our party if there are no last-minute changes just before swearing-in," stated another leader who is set to become minister from the party
Khatiwada is likely to become urban development minister, Jhakri health minister, Ale tourism minister and Shrestha labor minister. The ministry of state minister Khapung has yet to be agreed on but he likely to be appointed in the health or tourism ministry.
Deuba has already made three ministers and a state minister from his faction of NC and Senior Leader Ram Chandra Paudel has been demanding three ministers from his faction. But Deuba is likely to induct only Dilendra Prasad Badu and Minendra Rijal from the Paudel faction. Badu will be made minister on recommendation of Paudel and Rijal on General Secretary Shashank Koirala's.
The Paudel faction is set to get defense and law ministries while the current Law Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki will be made Minister for Communications and Information Technology, according to a Baluwatar source.
Deuba is preparing to give Ministry of Youth and Sports to the faction of Krishna Prasad Sitaula. Uma Kanta Chaudhary is likely to become minister from the faction while Bhimsen Das Pradhan is also lobbying to become minister.
The Baluwatar source pointed that there can be some last minute changes in the name of ministers from NC.
Deuba is likely to keep the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies that NC has got in the power sharing arrangements in the ruling coalition with himself.
JSP is also close to finalizing the names of ministers. Chairman Upendra Yadav will not join the Cabinet after Deuba refused to make him deputy PM.
Rajendra Shrestha, Ramsahay Prasad Yadav, Renu Yadav and Pramod Sah are likely to become ministers from the party.
The names of ministries they will get have yet to be finalized. JSP executive committee had handed over the responsibility of finalizing names of the ministers to Chairmen Yadav and Baburam Bhattarai, and Senior Leader Ashok Rai.
"The names have almost been finalized. Bhattarai has left for Gorkha today after finalizing the names," a JSP leader told Setopati.
CPN (Maoist Center) has already finalized the names of ministers. The party's standing committee meeting on Wednesday decided to make standing committee member Devendra Paudel, and central members Shashi Shrestha, and Maheshwore Gahatraj new ministers while Bodh Maya Yadav will be made state minister. The names of ministries they will get have yet to be finalized though.
The party had sent Finance Minister Jarnadan Sharma and Energy Minister Pampha Bhusal to the Cabinet when Deuba formed the government.
