KP Sharma Oli takes oath as Nepal prime minister for fourth time after fall of Prachanda government

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli took oath as the prime minister of Nepal for the fourth time at a special function at the president's office in the capital city of Kathmandu on Monday (Jul 15). Alongside Oli, two deputy prime ministers and 19 ministers took the oath of office. 

Oli, leader of the largest communist party in the Himalayan nation, was named the PM, following the collapse of the coalition government. He succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives last Friday (Jul 12), leading to the formation of the new government as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution.

In the 275-member House, 138 is the minimum number required to run a government. Oli managed to submit signatures of 166 lawmakers in his support (Congress' 88 and UML's 78) to stake the claim. 

Oli is widely seen as being pro-China, and Kathmandu’s ties with Beijing are expected to become closer in his tenure, the news agency PTI reported.

Modi congratulates new Nepal PM

In a post on X, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Oli. "Look forward to working closely to further strengthen the deep bonds of friendship between our two countries and to further expand our mutually beneficial cooperation for the progress and prosperity of our peoples," Modi said.

In response, the new Nepal PM said, "Thank you, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for your warm congratulations. I am committed to working closely with you to strengthen Nepal-India relations for our mutual benefit. Together, we can elevate our historic ties to new heights."

Also read | Nepal: KP Oli stakes claim to become PM after Prachanda loses trust vote

Breakup of the new government: 

KP Sharma Oli: Prime Minister 

Of the 21 ministers, 10 are from Congress, eight from UML, two from JSP and one from LSP

Congress  

1. Ramesh Lekhak- Ministry of Home Affairs
2. Arzu Rana Deuba- Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
3. Pradip Paudel - Ministry of Health and Population 
4. Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya - Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs 
5. Badri Prasad Pandey - Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation 
6. Deepak Khadka- Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation 
7. Prakashman Singh- Deputy PM & Ministry o Urban Development 
8. Ain Bahadur Shahi- Ministry of Forest and Environment  
9. Ramnath Adhikari- Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock 
10. Tejulal Chaudhary-Ministry of Youth and Sports 

UML 

1. Bishnu Poudel- Deputy PM & Finance Ministry 
2. Prithvisubba Gurung- Ministry of Communication and Information Technology
3. Manbeer Rai- Ministry of Defense 
4. Devendra Dahal- Physical infrastructure 
5. Raj Kumar Gupta- Federal Affairs and General Administration 
6. Bidya Bhattarai- Education, Science and Technology 
7. Balram Adhikari- Land management, cooperatives and poverty alleviation
8. Damodar Bhandari- Industry, Commerce and Supply 

Loktantrik Samajbai Party (LSP)

1. Sharat Singh Bhandari - Ministry of labour, Employment and Social Security 

Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) 

1. Nawal Kishore Sah Sudi - Ministry of Women, Children & Social Welfare 
2. Pradeep Yadav- Ministry of Drinking Water

Oli's biggest challenge will now be in maintaining its relationship with India as well as China. Oli's previous stint saw him in a standoff with New Delhi after his government published a new map of Nepal that included Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh as its territories. 

(With inputs from agencies)