Nepal Interim PM Sushila Karki Expands Cabinet To 14 Ministers Ahead Of March 5 Parliamentary Elections

Kathmandu [Nepal], December 13 (ANI): The Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government, Sushila Karki, on Friday expanded her Cabinet, inducting four new ministers into her government tasked with holding the House of Representatives elections on March 5.

According to the Kathmandu Post, Nepalese President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kumar Ingnam, Rajendra Singh Bhandari, Madhav Prasad Chaulagain and Shraddha Shrestha at the Office of the President in the presence of the prime minister.

Ingnam has been appointed Nepal's Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, while Bhandari will lead Nepal's Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. Chaulagain has taken charge of Nepal's Ministry of Forests and Environment, and Shrestha has been assigned Nepal's Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, as reported by the Kathmandu Post.

This is Karki's fourth Cabinet expansion, bringing the size of the Council of Ministers to 14.

Meanwhile, Anil Sinha, who has been overseeing Nepal's Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies as well as the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, has also been handed the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The portfolio of Land Management, previously held by Sinha, has now been transferred to Ingnam.

Ingnam is an advocate by profession, while Chaulagain, a public health specialist, is the author of the book "Sapadlaksha Karnali".
Bhandari formerly served as an Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police, and Shrestha worked as a senior manager in the Tourism Marketing and Promotion Department at the Nepal Tourism Board, as reported by the Kathmandu Post.

Earlier in September, Nepal's interim government Prime Minister announced that preliminary preparations for the parliamentary election of March 5 are underway, calling everyone to exercise their franchise.

Addressing the nation from her office at Singhadurbar, the first interim female Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushila Karki, called on all the citizens of Nepal to participate in the parliamentary election.

"To find a way out of this complex situation, the government has already started preliminary work for the general election by holding the election in a free, fair and fear-free environment by March 5, after discussing with the Election Commission officials the necessary manpower, budget, election materials, security and legal arrangements. The existing election law has been amended through an ordinance to provide voting rights to the younger generation who have reached the age of 18 and to extend the voter list," the interim Prime Minister Karki announced in her address.

Calling on all the voters scattered across the nation, the Nepali Prime Minister called on everyone to exercise their electoral rights for the change that the youth have demanded. (ANI)