Despite a sense of urgency in Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to get Cabinet appointments in place, things are not looking good as a series of complications are likely to delay the swearing-in of new ministers.

The PM’s main coalition partner Nepali Congress is struggling to finalise the list of ministers, Dahal’s own party is divided over the selection of ministers, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s unification bid with the RPP-Nepal is likely to see the party bargain for more berths and the Madhesi Morcha is in a wait-and-see mode until the registration of the constitution amendment proposal in Parliament.

Two NC factions are engaged in a leadership battle of the Nepal Students’ Union, one of the most powerful sister organisations of the party whose national convention started in the Capital on Sunday after the gap of a decade. Even when the convention is over, the two factions are unlikely to easily decide on the candidates to represent the party in the government.

PM Dahal’s personal secretary Ramesh Malla admitted that the NSU’s general convention and the PM’s attempt to take the agitating Madhesi and Janajati forces on board were the two major reasons behind the delay in Cabinet expansion despite the PM’s desire “to get it done at the earliest”.

The Prime Minister’s Office has already sent a letter to the RPP, urging the party to send the names of two ministers even as the ministries have not been decided.

RPP General Secretary Buddhiman Tamang said the Central Working Committee of the unified party would meet two weeks after merger to take a decision about joining the government.

Tamang said the new force would claim at least seven ministries as the RPP with 12 seats got two ministries and the RPP-N with 25 MPs had five ministerial berths in the KP Sharma Oli-led government.

Dahal has inducted five ministers so far, including Deputy Prime Ministers Bimalendra Nidhi and Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

Nidhi is also the home minister and Mahara the finance minister. Ramesh Lekhak has been assigned the Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, Daljit BK Shripaili is the minister for youth and sports and Gauri Shankar Chaudhary has been appointed the minister for agriculture development.

While fringe parties supporting the government have been waiting for a call from the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss their candidates, PM Dahal is holding out until his main coalition partners and the Madhesi Morcha settle their issues.

According to leaders, Morcha heavyweights have indicated their claim to certain ministries, should they decide to join the government. Dahal wants to keep them vacant for creating a favourable environment for negotiation with Morcha.

On Sunday, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Loktantrik Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar met Dahal and urged him to induct the lawmakers from his party into the Cabinet. Dahal is said to have urged him to wait for some time—citing his ongoing talks with the Morcha.

CPN Samyukta, which has three MPs, is ready to send its Parliamentary Party leader Jaya Dev Joshi to the Dahal Cabinet but has not heard from the prime minister.