Nepali PM reshuffles cabinet after taking in other party members

Kathmandu (Nepal) June 5: Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reshuffled his cabinet on Friday evening after offering 10 ministerial posts to a faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP).
The JSP faction led by Chairman Mahantha Thakur agreed to join the cabinet after the Oli government released its 430 cadres from custody, amended the Citizenship Act and formed a task force to study constitutional amendment, key demands of the group.
With the introduction of the JSP faction, Oli reshuffled his cabinet, keeping only four ministers while promoting Minister for Finance BishnuPoudel to be a deputy prime minister.
Among the ministerial posts for the JSP figures, senior leader RajendraMahato was named deputy prime minister and minister for urban development.
Oli appointed RaghubirMahaseth, a leader from his own party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), as deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs.
The prime minister himself took charge of seven ministries concurrently for the moment, but would allocate the portfolios to members of his own party later.
"The cabinet will be expanded after holding discussions in the party," BishalBhattarai, a CPN-UML leader, told Xinhua.
Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office to the newly appointed ministers on Friday evening, according to Keshav Prasad Ghimire, deputy spokesperson at the President's Office.
As suggested by Oli, Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives on May 22 for fresh elections on Nov. 12 and 19.
Source: Xinhua