Nepali Congress has joined the Karnali Province government, which is led by the CPN-UML’s Yamlal Kandel. Province Head Yagya Raj Joshi on Monday administered the oath of office and secrecy to four ministers from the Congress party.

Ghanashyam Bhandari of Dailekh has been appointed as minister for social development, Rajiv Bikram Shah of Jajarkot as minister for economic affairs and planning and Suresh Adhikari of Salyan as minister for industry, tourism, forest and environment. Likewise, Bijaya Budha of Humla has been sworn in as the minister for water resources and energy development.

After the exit of the CPN (Maoist Centre) from the government on July 22 the ministries had remained vacant. With these appointments, the Karnali Province government has been given a full shape.

Earlier, Chief Minister Kandel, two ministers and one minister of state were appointed from the UML.

Of the seven provincial governments, the Congress and the UML have agreed to lead three provincial governments each. As per the agreement, the UML has formed governments in Koshi, Lumbini and Karnali while Congress has led in Bagmati and Gandaki. The party’s Kamal Bahadur Shah staked claim for Sudurpaschim chief ministerial position earlier on Sunday.

In Madhesh Province, the two parties have supported the government of Janamat Party.