Veteran Communist leader KP Sharma Oli was on Monday sworn in as Nepal’s 38th Prime Minister, a day after he was elected in Parliament with support from smaller parties, even as the country is grappling with political unrest over the new Constitution.
Oli, 63, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Baran Yadav at his official residence. Prime Minister Oli also has formed a small Cabinet incorporating two Deputy Prime Ministers and five Ministers as he chaired his first cabinet meeting here.
Bijay Kumar Gachhadar and Kamal Thapa were sworn in as Deputy Prime Ministers. The two are said to have been rewarded for their support to Oli in Parliament.
Gachhadar, the president of Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum Democratic, a key Madhesi party, has been allocated with the portfolio of Physical Planning and Transport while Thapa, president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal received the portfolio of Foreign Affairs.
The other Ministers included in Oli’s Cabinet are Agni Kharel, Satya Narayan Mandal, Som Pandey, Haribol Gajurel and Ram Kumar Subba. Oli, who will now have to deal with challenges like protests and blockade of a key border trade point with
India over the country’s new Constitution, was on Sunday elected as Nepal’s new Prime Minister.