KATHMANDU: Nepal's newly-appointed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' have agreed to expand the Cabinet by Monday, a media report said on Sunday.
The ruling parties are doing the homework to appoint leaders from their own party in the government.
The extension will take place on Sunday or by Monday, My Republica newspaper reported, citing its sources.
It said a meeting was held at the prime minister's residence in Baluwatar where the two leaders agreed to expand the government to include CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal's side "as much as possible."
At present, besides Deuba, there are four Cabinet ministers and one minister of state in the Cabinet.
CPN-UML leader Madhav Nepal, however, is reluctant to join the government right now in the wake of struggle within the party.
In such a case, out of the 25 Cabinet ministers that Nepal's constitution allows, the Nepali Congress will have eight ministers, the Maoist Centre and the Janata Samajbadi Party seven each after the Cabinet expansion, the paper said.
Citing its sources, it said that in the remaining three places, the leaders close to Madhav Nepal, but with independent status will be made ministers.
NC leaders Pushpa Bhusal, Narayan Khadka, Man Bahadur BK, Kishor Singh Rathore and Bahadur Singh Lama are likely to be inducted into the Cabinet.
Deuba, 75, was appointed as the prime minister for a record fifth time on July 12 following the Supreme Court's intervention.
The CPN-Maoist Centre and Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal lawmakers had voted in favour of Deuba during the confidence motion in the House.
Deuba, who secured 165 votes in the 275-member House, will remain in office for the next one and half years until a fresh parliamentary election is held.