Pressure has been placed on the Chief Minister to 'refresh' the government, particularly as complaints about low development spending, delays in decision implementation, and weak coordination between ministries have increased.
What you should know
Preparations for cabinet reshuffle in Koshi Province have intensified. Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki has started the homework of swearing in the new cabinet, probably today or tomorrow, after the ruling partners UML and Congress reached an agreement to reshuffle the ministers.
Although this may seem like a 'normal' reshuffle on the surface, its underlying reasons are linked to political imbalance, dissatisfaction with performance, and internal pressure within the party.
Why did the reshuffle happen?
The leaders of the ruling coalition parties had been raising allegations that the expected results had not been seen even after a long time since the formation of the government led by Chief Minister Karki. Especially after complaints about low development expenditure, delay in decision implementation, and weak coordination between ministries, the pressure to 'refresh' the government was mounting.
It has been concluded that some ministers within the UML have followed a more personal style than the party's political line, have not coordinated with public representatives, and have failed to address public expectations. This is why Chief Minister Karki is preparing to dismiss all the old ministers from the UML and bring in a new team.
'Output' of the internal dispute within the Congress
The long-standing internal dispute within the Nepali Congress is also another major reason for the reshuffle. The Congress could not effectively present itself in the government due to the failure to agree on the distribution of ministries between the establishment, Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Shekhar Koirala factions. Recently, after reaching an agreement at the center and provincial levels, the Congress has paved the way for the government with a new face.
The preparation of a new team led by Pradeep Sunuwar from the Congress to join the government is seen as an attempt to balance the power within the party. The agreement to send ministers by including various factions is expected to ease the discontent within the Congress to some extent. Sunuwar and Israel Mansuri from the establishment faction, Bhim Parajuli from the Krishna Sitaula faction and Man Bahadur Limbu from the Shekhar Koirala faction are likely to become ministers.
According to sources, an initial agreement has been reached to give Sunuwar the responsibility of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure, Parajuli for Tourism, Limbu for Health and Mansuri for Industry, Agriculture and Cooperatives.
Chief Minister Karki is also preparing to dismiss all the old ministers from UML and bring in a new team. From UML, Bidur Lingthep, Niran Rai, Indramani Parajuli, Tilchan Pathak (Chintan), Gyanendra Subedi and Ram Prasad Mahato are in the news as ministers.
According to the discussions, Parajuli is preparing to give the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lingthep the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, and Pathak the Ministry of Water Supply and Energy. The Chief Minister is also preparing to make one of Gyanendra Subedi of Morang and Ram Prasad Mahato of Sunsari a minister and a woman MP a Minister of State. Among the women, Meena Shrestha's name is in the news. Shrestha is a proportional MP from Sunsari, close to KP Oli.
Looking at the names that have been in the news from UML, it seems that Chief Minister Karki is keeping in mind the regional balance, experience and power structure within the party. UML leaders say that the Chief Minister's strategy is to keep the government under more control by putting trusted leaders forward in 'core' ministries such as internal affairs, economic affairs and planning.
The preparations to make one from Morang and Sunsari a minister and a woman MP a minister of state will also send a message about the political equation and representation in the coming days.
If the name is changed in the name of the cabinet reshuffle, the growing public dissatisfaction with the government is unlikely to decrease. However, analysts say that if the new ministers focus on performance, decision implementation and direct dialogue with the people, the government may have an opportunity to regain momentum in the 'second inning'.
