PM Dahal forms six-member cabinet

PM Dahal forms six-member cabinet

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal assumed office on Thursday after taking oath of office and secrecy from the president earlier in the day. He has formed a small cabinet with two deputy prime ministers and three other ministers from his own CPN (Maoist Center) and the other major coalition partner Nepali Congress (NC). Dahal appointed NC's Bimalendra Nidhi as deputy prime minister and home minister and Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara as deputy prime minister and finance minister. Similarly, NC's Ramesh Lekhak has been appointed minister for physical planning and infrastructure, Maoist leader Daljit Bishwakarma Sripali has been given the youth and sports portfolio while Gaurishankar Chaudhary of the same party has been appointed minister for agriculture.

 Leaders from the two parties have also finalized the list of ministries to be headed by them. A meeting of leaders from the two sides on Thursday morning agreed to give NC 13 different ministries and the Maoist Center eight ministries except for those to be overseen by the prime minister.

    Nidhi, DPM and Home Minister
    Mahara, DPM and Finance Minister
    Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Physical Planning and Infrastructure
    Daljit Sripali, Minister for Youth and Sports
    Gaurishankar Chaudhary, Minister for Agriculture

According to Maoist Center's spokesperson Pampha Bhusal the prime minister's party will get the energy, education, communications, law and justice, and local development among other portfolios.