It has been over a week since the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML agreed to form a new government under the leadership of the CPN-UML chair KP Oli, but they have yet to settle the ministry-wise portfolio division.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who lost his majority after the UML and other parties withdrew their support, will face a vote of confidence on Friday as required by the constitution. This will be Dahal’s fifth floor test since becoming the prime minister in December 2022. It is almost certain that he will not secure the majority, which means President Ram Chandra Poudel will have to call for the formation of a new government.

As soon as the prime minister fails the vote, Speaker Devraj Ghimire will inform President Poudel of the results. The UML is planning to claim the formation of the new government with the support of over two-thirds of the lawmakers, a central committee member of the party told the Post.

But it is not clear whether the President will appoint Oli as the next prime minister after the UML submits the signature of the two-thirds lawmakers or he will give political parties one to three days to form a new government under Article 76 (3).

President Poudel is consulting his team as well as his advisors, said an aide.

As per the initial power-sharing agreement between Deuba and Oli, Congress will get 11 ministries and the UML will get 10. But as more parties have decided to extend support to Oli, they will need to accommodate other fringe parties in the government.

Despite these preparations, the Congress and the UML have yet to finalise their nominees for ministers. Oli is likely to be sworn in on Tuesday once the prime minister election process is completed. Sources citing an informal agreement between the two parties said the Congress will lead the home and foreign affairs ministries, and the UML finance and defence ministries.

“We are lobbying for General Secretary Gagan Thapa to lead the Congress team in the new government,” Bishwa Prakash Sharma, another general secretary of the party, told the Post.

Thapa is interested to lead the Ministry of Home Affairs, but Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba wants Ramesh Lekhak as the new home minister, according to Congress leaders. “If Thapa leads another ministry, but is given the position of deputy prime minister, he should join the government,” said Sharma.

Dozens of lawmakers have expressed their intent to become ministers this time, so the party’s leadership, including Deuba, is in a difficult situation regarding whom to send and whom not to.

Deuba's spouse, Arzu Rana, is widely expected to be the next foreign minister. Other potential Congress ministers include Chandra Bhandari, Jeevan Pariyar, Tejulal Chaudhary, and Ajay Chaurasiya, among others.

Besides Thapa, senior Nepali Congress leaders like Prakash Man Singh and Krishna Prasad Situala, among others, are also interested in leading the party in the new Cabinet, according to sources.

General Secretary Sharma, however, told the Post that he would not join the new government.

Singh, due to his senior position inside the party and the support he had extended in the past to help Deuba win the party presidency, has a high chance of leading the Congress team in the government, if General Secretary Thapa does not join the government, according to Nepali Congress leaders. Thapa has reportedly set some conditions, including deputy prime ministership, for him to lead the party’s team in the Oli Cabinet.

Although Sharma claimed that they would lobby for Thapa, Thapa himself, speaking at a function in Biratnagar on Thursday, said he would not join the new government.

“I have told the party leadership that I will work as general secretary and not join the government,” said Thapa.

He also claimed that as soon as the process of forming the new government begins, the seven-point agreement signed between Oli and Deuba at midnight of July 1 will be made public.

“We will discuss with the party president on Friday about sending the Congress team in the government under Thapa’s leadership,” said Sharma.

However, UML chief Oli, who is all set to become the new prime minister, is reportedly against having the deputy prime minister portfolio this time. That is one major reason why the two parties have been unable to finalise the portfolio division.

If the post of deputy prime minister remains, UML’s Bishnu Poudel, who previously served in that role, might be appointed deputy prime minister and finance minister, according to UML leaders. However, Oli is not keen on bringing Poudel into the Cabinet, according to the leaders.

Padma Aryal, UML's party secretary, said a secretariat meeting of the party on Wednesday had already entrusted Oli with selecting ministers.

There is also a long list of aspirants in the UML hoping to become ministers in the new Oli Cabinet.

If the deputy prime minister portfolio is removed, Oli is likely to pick Rishikesh Pokhrel as the next finance minister, according to the leaders. Pokhrel is the chairman of the Public Account Committee of the House of Representatives.