Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday expanded his Cabinet.

The prime minister reshuffled the Cabinet for the seventh time in three months, inducting ministers from five new parties including the Nepali Congress.

The newly appointed ministers took an oath of office and secrecy from President Ramchandra Paudel at Sheetal Niwas, the President’s Office.

Only four leaders of the Nepali Congress have been appointed ministers for now as the largest party couldn’t recommend all the names owing to internal disputes in the party. The faction led by the party’s senior leader Shekhar Koirala and General Secretary Gagan Thapa didn’t submit names of ministers from their side.

Party vice president Purna Bahadur Khadka is leading the party’s team in the Cabinet as deputy prime minister and minister for defence; while Prakash Sharan Mahat is appointed the minister for finance; Ramesh Rijal the minister for industry, commerce and supplies and Sita Gurung the minister for urban development.

Likewise, Shakti Basnet of the CPN (Maoist Centre) has been appointed the minister for energy, water resource and irrigation.

The prime minister assigned the home portfolio to Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Shrestha was looking after the ministry of physical infrastructure and transport. The prime minister himself was overseeing the home ministry after the Supreme Court invalidated the citizenship of the then minister Rabi Lamichhane.

CPN (Unified Socialist) vice chair Beduram Bhusal has been appointed the minister for agriculture and livestock development and the party’s deputy general secretary Prakash Jwala the minister for physical infrastructure and transport.

Similarly, Janata Samajbadi Party federal council chair Ashok Rai has been appointed the minister for education, science and technology.

Likewise, Sharat Singh Bhandari of Loktantrik Samajbadi Party has been appointed the minister for labour, employment and social security.

Nagarik Unmukti Party’s Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha Chaudhary has been appointed the minister for land management, cooperatives and poverty alleviation.

Similarly, Mahindra Raya Yadav of the Nepal Samajbadi Party has been inducted as the minister for women, children and senior citizens.

Despite the seventh reshuffling, the Dahal Cabinet is yet to get full shape.

The prime minister is still in charge of the ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs; the foreign ministry; the ministry of forest and environment; the ministry of health and population and the ministry of youth and sports.

Meanwhile, Minister for Water Supply Abdul Khan of Janamat Party has resigned, expressing dissatisfaction with the Cabinet expansion.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister, Khan submitted his resignation to the prime minister at the latter’s office in Singhadurbar on Friday.

Khan and his party had demanded the ministry of industry but the prime minister didn’t address their demand.

The story has been updated.