Gandaki Province Cabinet Reshuffle Sparks Internal Party Tensions

Pokhara. In Gandaki Province, the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) have recalled all previous ministers and appointed new ones. On Wednesday, 4 new ministers from the Congress and 4 from the UML were appointed. Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey has reshuffled the cabinet after nearly 2 years.

The ministers of the Gandaki government, which had been running stably since the appointment of UML ministers in 2080 Bhadra, were changed today without prior discussion.

Chief Minister Pandey had been working internally on the cabinet reshuffle without even hinting at it to his close associates. Although preparations were made to appoint new ministers on Chaitra 26, the process was delayed because Province Head Dilliraj Bhatta had gone to Manang.

On Wednesday around 10:45 AM, the Office of the Province Head suddenly informed all secretaries, lawmakers, and stakeholders that the newly appointed ministers of Gandaki Province would be sworn in at 11:45 AM at the Tourism Board hall in Damside, Pokhara.

Unlike in the past, when cabinet changes were announced with much fanfare, lawmakers are now disgruntled after receiving only an invitation to the swearing-in ceremony due to fears of rising dissatisfaction. Congress lawmaker Drona Kunwar has resigned from his post. He informed that he sent his resignation letter to the Speaker via WhatsApp.

It appears that there was no consensus within the central leadership of the Congress regarding the cabinet reshuffle. Joint General Secretary Yogendra Chaudhary stated that while discussions were ongoing about changing ministers in all provinces, there was no information at the official level about the changes in Gandaki today. 'There was talk of changing ministers in all provinces. The matter of changing them in Gandaki today was not briefed at the official level,' Joint General Secretary Chaudhary told Ratopati. 'We had given the responsibility of coordination to Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma. He has not briefed us yet.'

Most of the new ministers belong to the establishment faction. Energy Minister Nanda Prasad Neupane was openly aligned with the Gagan group. Social Development Minister Rekha Gurung and Forest Minister Namdu Gurung are also close to Gagan. They, along with those close to Mustang President Romi Gauchan, had voted for Pandey as the parliamentary party leader. Although they belong to different factions, all those who have become ministers now had voted for Pandey.

Finance Minister Jit Sherchan is close to Krishna Sitaula. He is often associated with General Secretary Pradeep Paudel. It is rumored that Paudel exerted pressure during the current ministerial appointments. In the parliamentary party leader election, Pandey received 18 votes while his competitor Bhojraj Aryal received 8 votes. One other vote was invalid.

Chief Minister Pandey is considered close to outgoing President Sher Bahadur Deuba. However, he did not even consult with leaders of the Deuba group. A leader at the official level of the Deuba group stated that lawmaker Kunwar resigned out of frustration for not being made a minister, despite the Chief Minister being from his own group.