Nepal: Caretaker PM Oli inducts 12 new faces, removes 13 from office in latest round of reshuffle ahead of election

Nepal's caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has inducted 12 new faces into his cabinet as he reshuffled the council of ministers on Friday, days after dissolving the Parliament.

As per a release of the President Office, the new cabinet consists of three deputy prime ministers, 12 cabinet ministers and two state ministers.

All the ministers were administered oath to office and secrecy during a special function at the Office of the President on Friday late evening.

Oli has kept seven ministerial portfolios with him and has retained four ministers from his previous cabinet.

The latest round of reshuffle by Oli comes ahead of the November elections.

Mahanta Thakur-led faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party decides to come to form an alliance with the government. The faction has secured 8 ministerial and 2 state ministers post.

Oli has relieved all incumbent Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) ministers from their respective portfolios, except for Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Education Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Law Minister Lila Shrestha and Minister for Physical Infrastructures and Transport Basanta Nembang.

UML's Bishnu Paudel (Finance Minister) and Raghubir Mahaseth (Foreign Minister) and Thakur-led JSP's Rajendra Mahato (Urban Development Minister) have been sworn in as deputy prime ministers in the new cabinet.

After the latest round of reshuffle, Oli retains the post of Prime Minister (caretaker), Minister for Home, Defence, Communications and Information Technology, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Agriculture, Commerce and Supplies and General Administration.

Meanwhile, Bishnu Paudel has been promoted as deputy prime minister. He also retained his earlier portfolio of Minister for Finance.

Gopal Man Shrestha will continue with profile of Minister for Education and Sports as well as Lila Shrestha as Minister for Law.

Raghubir Mahaseth has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, while Basanta Kumar Nembanghas been given continuation as Minister for Physical Infrastructures and Transport.

Sher Bahadur Tamang has been appointed as Minister for Health and Sharat Singh Bhandari as Minister for Energy.

Apart from this, Anil Jhaas Minister has been given a charge of Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry and Laxman Lal Karnaas Minister of Land Management and Cooperatives Ministry.

Likewise, Bimal Shreevastav has been appointed as Minister for Labour and Employment, Uma Shanker Agariyaas as Minister for Forest and Environment and Chanda Chaudhary as Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens.

Ekwal Miya has been provided with the portfolio of Minister for Youths and Sports, Chandra Kanta Chaudhary as Minister of State for Energy, while Renuka Gurungas has got the Minister of State for Women, Children and Senior Citizens in the latest round of reshuffle.

( With inputs from ANI )