A week before stepping down, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inducted three ministers from the Bijay Kumar Gachhadar-led Nepal Loktantrik Forum on Monday.

The positions were vacant after the Rastriya Prajatantra Party pulled out of the government protesting the impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice Sushila Karki last week.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office to Gachhadar as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development, Jitendra Dev as Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation and Gopal Dahit as Minister for Land Reforms and Management.

Minister Dahit, who was the lone lawmaker of the Tharuhat Tarai Party before merger with Gachhadar’s Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik, said PM Dahal would induct three state ministers from the fifth largest party in Parliament on Tuesday.

Sources claimed that Dahal had agreed to induct the NLF after NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba refused to bring back the RPP in the government, retaining Kamal Thapa’s status as the PM’s deputy, citing the seniority row with Deputy Prime Minister Bimalendra Nidhi.

The NLF was formed recently with the merger of Gachhadar’s MJF-D, the Shiva Lal Thapa-led Rastriya Janamukti Party-Democratic, the Yashoda Kumari Lama-led Dalit Janajati Party and Bhanuram Chaudhary’s Tharuhat Tarai Party. The unified party currently has 18 lawmakers.

PM Dahal has been working to garner a two-thirds majority for endorsing the constitution amendment proposal in order to ensure that the Sanghiya Gathabandhan participates in the local polls.

Lawmaker Shiva Lal Thapa said the NLF agreed to join the government after PM Dahal and NC President Deuba agreed to continue them in the Deuba-led government as well. Dahal will hand over the reins to Deuba after holding the first phase of local elections on May 14.

Gachhadar’s 12th time in government

This is Gachhadar’s 12th term as minister after he was first inducted as Minister for Information and Communication in the government of the late Girija Prasad Koirala in 1991.

Last time, he was the deputy prime minister and minister for physical planning and works in the government of KP Sharma Oli.