New Delhi: Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s cabinet reflects a mix of youth, gender, and personal experience that was finalised after prolonged discussions that had begun even before the final results of the March 5 national election were announced.
Many of the cabinet members are new, some even first-time MPs, say reports from Kathmandu, which added that several are considered “experts in their fields”. The main names in contention between Balen – as he is popularly called – and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane were said to be for the Finance and Home portfolios.
According to a report in Nepal’s Republica on Wednesday, “PM-designate Balen Shah (who took oath as PM on Friday) pushes for 16 ministries, RSP works to build consensus,” adding, “However, differences persist within the party. President Rabi Lamichhane has maintained that the government should adhere to earlier understandings and retain 18 ministries. Party leaders say negotiations are ongoing to reach a middle ground before the final cabinet is announced.”
When the list was finally announced on Friday, the media outlet said, “At the core of the government’s economic agenda is Dr Swarnim Wagle, set to be appointed Minister for Finance, a choice widely seen as an attempt to reassure markets and development partners. Foreign policy, at a time of shifting regional dynamics, will be steered by Shisir Khanal, while internal security falls under Sudan Gurung as Minister for Home Affairs.”
Balen Shah, himself a structural engineer-turned-rapper, is the new Prime Minister with additional charge of Defence and Industry Ministries, according to the media platform Nepali Times.
There has been an attempt to make the Cabinet inclusive with women in five of the new portfolios, it mentioned. The 35-year-old new Premier’s direct stint in politics was when he became the first independent candidate to be elected mayor of Kathmandu in the 2022 municipal election.
Meanwhile, “After much negotiation, the powerful Home Ministry, a bone of contention between Shah and RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane, has gone to Sudan Gurung, a hitherto little-known figure who rose to prominence after the September GenZ protest and won the election from Gorkha-2,” said the Nepali Times report.
The 1989-born Gurung is largely seen as a Balen nominee who rose to prominence during the Gen Z movement against alleged misgovernance and nepotism by politicians that led to the fall of the K. P. Sharma Oli government last year. Gurung is said to have been the principal negotiator with the President, the Army Chief, and others, finally leading to former Chief Justice Sushila Karki becoming interim Prime Minister. He is also the founder of the non-governmental organisation Hami Nepal, which worked extensively during the Nepal earthquake.
Gurung’s efforts are credited for being behind Balen and Rabi’s political partnership in the run-up to the election.
According to some reports, D. P. Aryal was a probable name to head the home ministry, being considered close to the party chief. His name is said to have been proposed as Speaker of the House. Aryal previously served two brief stints as the Minister of Labour when RSP was part of the RSP’s coalition governments in 2023 and 2024.
The new Finance Minister is 51-year-old Swarnim Wagle, an economist with academic degrees from the London School of Economics, Harvard University, and the Australian National University. He has also served as a Senior Economist at the World Bank and as the Chief Economic Advisor for Asia and the Pacific at the UNDP.
Previously a member of Nepali Congress, Wagle joined the RSP in 2023 after falling out with the former’s top leadership.
Rank-wise, PM Balen Shah heads the cabinet, followed by the Finance and Home Ministers, in that order.
Meanwhile, Shishir Khanal, 47, who was heading RSP’s international affairs department, has been appointed the Foreign Minister. Similarly, most other cabinet members have experience in the field they will now head.
(IANS)
