KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who has reportedly committed to Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to leave Singhadarbar after the May 14 local level elections, has inducted three State Ministers in his Council of Ministers that he had expanded yesterday only.

Sumitra Tharuni has been appointed the State Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation; Yashoda Kumari Lama the State Minister for Land Reform and Management, Janak Chaudhary the State Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development.

They all are lawmakers from the Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar-led Nepal Democratic Forum.

Gachhadar was sworn in as the Deputy Prime Minister with Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development yesterday along with two other ministers from his party, Jitendra Narayan Dev and Gopal Dahit, who are assigned to take charge of the  Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Ministry for Land Reform and Management respectively.

The list of the members of Cabinet has put Gachhadar above two other DPMs -- Bimalendra Nidhi of Nepali Congress and Krishna Bahadur Mahara of CPN Maoist Centre -- indicating that he is the de facto second man in the Council of Ministers.