New govt on anvil in Nepal as PM Prachanda splits with coalition partner

Kathmandu, March 4 (IANS) A reshuffle of the cabinet is on the cards in Nepal on Monday with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) severing its alliance with its coalition partner Nepali Congress.

The chasm has been reportedly widening between the two biggest parties in the Himalayan Kingdom over the claim for chairmanship of the National Assembly.

"Government to change today and the new Cabinet will be formed. Swearing in of ministers will also take place today," Surendra Pandey, Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN- UML), said in a social media post on Monday.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will reportedly induct ministers from the CPN-UML, Rashtriya Swatantra Party, and Janata Samajbadi Party apart from the CPN (Maoist Centre).

The move comes after PM Dahal met CPN-UML's K.P. Sharma Oli, the former prime minister, on Sunday to discuss a new political alliance following a breakdown in their partnerships in 2020 as well as 2023.

The Kathmandu Post reported that PM Dhala will be sending over a letter to President Ramchandra Paudel on the reshuffle, and the new ministers will likely be administered an oath of office and secrecy on Monday evening.

Emerging from an officer bearers' meeting on Monday, Maoist Centre leader, Devendra Paudel, said the step to join hands with the UML "was taken with a plan to forge a left unity for the long term".

Paudel was quoted as saying in the daily that a new power equation was developed as the Nepali Congress was creating hindrances for the prime minister to perform.

Becoming the Prime Minister of the South Asian nation in December 2022 with the support of CPN-UML, Dahal cut cords with the party and shook hands with the Nepali Congress within months.

Dahal's Maoist Centre party is the third biggest group in the 275-member parliament, in which a ruling alliance or party must have 138 votes of support.