Kathmandu: The much-awaited expansion of the two-member cabinet led by Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has been delayed till Tuesday as Nepali Congress and CPN-UML could not finalise the list of their ministers.
The CPN-UML, led by Jhala Nath Khanal, had decided to join the cabinet after it was assured of the home affairs portfolio during a meeting with the leaders of the Nepali Congress.
Senior CPN-UML leader Bam Dev Gautam will lead his party`s team with the deputy prime minister and home affairs portfolios.
Koirala has decided to allocate 10 ministries each to the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, the second largest party in the Constituent Assembly.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party and CPN-ML (Mainali) will get one ministry each.
The new ministers will also be sworn-in at the Rastrapati Bhawan tomorrow, Nepali Congress sources said.
The two-member cabinet headed by Prime Minister Koirala took oath on February 11.
The premier has been unable to expand his cabinet for nearly two weeks after his swearing-in due to differences with the CPN-UML on the issue of sharing power.
Without the support of CPN-UML`s 173 lawmakers, the government`s position will be shaky as the Nepali Congress has only 194 seats in the 601-member Constituent Assembly.
The government also needs the CPN-UML`s support to present the budget for the new fiscal in July.
