Kathmandu, July 25

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was expected to expand his Cabinet today, deferred the expansion at the eleventh hour after senior Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Paudel could not recommend names of lawmakers from his camp for the Cabinet.

The PM would expand the Cabinet only tomorrow, as Paudel recommended the names from his faction in the NC this evening.

“Cabinet expansion and swearing-in ceremony will be held tomorrow,” said PM’s Press Coordinator Govinda Pariyar.

The PM was criticised even by the ruling coalition partner, CPN-Maoist Centre, for not being able to give full shape to his Cabinet even 48 days after he became the country’s executive head. A few days ago, the ruling NC and CPN-MC had finalised ministerial berths to be shared by the two parties in the Cabinet led by PM Deuba.

As per the agreement, the Nepali Congress will have 13 ministries, including the ministries  of physical infrastructure and transport, water supply and sanitation,  irrigation, information and communications,  defence, and law, justice and parliamentary affairs.

The NC ministers already head finance, education, and labour and employment ministries.

The CPN-MC, on the other hand, will have nine ministries, including the ministries of health, agriculture development, energy, general administration, livestock development, and women, children and social welfare. The party’s lawmakers are already heading the ministries of home affairs, foreign affairs, and federal affairs and local development.

An NC source said Paudel had recommended four names from his camp — Rajan KC, Ram Krishna Yadav, Yagya Bahadur Thapa and Sanjaya Gautam — for the Cabinet. Earlier, Paudel had sought five portfolios but the PM offered only four ministries to his faction.

NC leader Bhimsen Das Pradhan has been recommended for the Cabinet from Krishna Prasad Sitaula’s camp, while Mohan Bahadur Basnet has been recommended from Khum Bahadur Khadka’s camp.

Prime Minister Deuba is likely to reward lawmakers from his camp — Min Bahadur Bishwokarma, Arjun Joshi, Ambika Basnet and Bir Bahadur Balayar — with ministerial berths.

A CPN-MC source said the party was most likely to send Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, Tek Bahadur Basnet, Mahendra Bahadur Sahi, Shyam Kumar Shrestha, Asha Khanal and Shiva Kumar Mandal to the Cabinet.