JSP holding Central Executive Committee meeting
Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has called its Central Executive Committee meeting to finalize names of the ministers from the party in the new coalition government.
The meeting has been called for 8 am today at the Balkumari-based party central office, informed JSP's publicity and publication department chief Purna Basnet.
According to him, the party having 15 federal parliamentarians has already decided to join the government.
PM Dahal expands Cabinet, newly appointed ministers sworn in
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expanded his Cabinet on Wednesday.
The newly appointed ministers take the oath of office and secrecy amidst a function at Sheetal Niwas as per Article 80 of the Constitution, the President’s Office said.
President Ram Chandra Paudel, Vice-President Ram Sahaya Yadav, Prime Minister Dahal and Speaker Devraj Ghimire among others were present in the swearing in ceremony.
The CPN-UML got eight ministries in the Dahal-led government.
Raghubir Mahaseth has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Padam Giri as Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Hari Upreti as Minister for Defense, Bhagwati Chaudhary as Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Rajendra Rai as Minister for Drinking Water, Damodar Bhandari as Minister for Commerce and Supplies, Jwala Kumari Sah as Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development and Balram Adhikari as Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.

Similarly, the CPN (Maoist Center) got six ministries including the Prime Minister.
Narayan Kaji Shrestha has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs, Barsha Man Pun as Minister for Finance, Rekha Sharma as Minister Communications and Information Technology, Shakti Bahadur Basnet as Minister for Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation and Hit Bahadur Tamang as Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Likewise, the Rastriya Swatantra Party got the responsibility of four ministries including Home.
President Rabi Lamichhane has been appointed as Minister for Home, Vice-President DP Aryal as Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security, Sumana Shrestha as Minister for Education, Science and Technology and Biraj Bhakta Shrestha as Minister for Youth and Sports.

Bhanu Bhakta Joshi has been appointed as Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration and Dhan Bahadur Buda as Minister for Urban Development from the CPN (Unified Socialist).
The new power equation formed on Monday includes UML, Maoist Center, Rastriya Swatantra Party and Janata Samajbadi Party.
They were also trying to rope in other parties as well.
Padam Giri from UML, Hitman Tamang from Maoist Center and DP Aryal from Rastriya Swatantra Party had taken the oath of office and secrecy as ministers without portfolio on Monday.
Meanwhile, though Janata Samajbadi Party leader Mohammad Istiyak Rai supported the new ruling alliance, he said that it has not been decided whether to join the government or not.

Maoist Center takes back support to Lumbini Province government
The CPN (Maoist Center) has withdrawn its support to the Lumbini Province government.
A meeting of the CPN (Maoist Center) Lumbini Province Parliamentary Party decided to pull out its support to Chief Minister Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary who is from the Nepali Congress.
According to Indrajeet Tharu, the party's chief whip for the province, the party on Wednesday submitted a letter to the Chief Minister's Secretariat informing later about its withdrawal of the support.
In the 87-member Lumbini PA, 86 lawmakers represent 10 political parties and one is an independent. The Maoist Center has 11 members.
The development is the ripple of the latest change in political equation in the national politics with the ruling Maoist Center on Monday deciding to break its alliance with the Nepali Congress to form a new coalition government with the support of the CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party and others.
Maoist Center pulls out its support to Sudurpaschim province government
The CPN (Maoist Center) has withdrawn its support to the Sudurpaschim province government.
A meeting of the Maoist Center Parliamentary Party this morning decided to pull out the support it had given to Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah, said the party's Province Assembly member Shiva Singh Oli.
The CPN (Maoist Center) was a partner in the government headed by the Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Shah. The CPN (Maoist Center) has 10 out of the total 53 seats in the Assembly, except the Speaker.
The Nepali Congress, which is the largest party in the Assembly, has 18 seats after the death in a road accident some months ago of one of its Assembly members from Bajhang, Prithvi Bahadur Singh.
Similarly, the CPN-UML has 10 seats, the Nagarik Unmukti Party seven seats, the CPN (Unified Socialist) four, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) one and an independent member in the Province Assembly.
The Nagarik Unmukti Party and the CPN (Unified Socialist), the present ruling coalition partners, have not decided till this afternoon whether they will remain in the government or not.
Before this, Chief Minister Shah on Tuesday relieved the Social Development Minister Jhapat Bahadur Saud, the Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment Ramesh Singh Dhami and the Minister of State for Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment, Gitadevi Mal, representing the CPN (Maoist Centre) in the government, from their posts.



