Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Saturday informed President Bidhya Devi Bhandari of his plan to expand the Cabinet on Sunday.

Dahal, who was elected prime minister on August 3, has been leading a nine-member Cabinet.  “The prime minister informed the President that he would expand his Cabinet on Sunday,” said PM Dahal’s Personal Secretary Ramesh Malla.

Dahal, who was entrusted by the party with the task of selecting ministers on Tuesday, is said to have already finalised the list. According to Malla, the Maoist Centre will send ministers for all the five ministers that the party is supposed to get as per an understanding with the Nepali Congress.

Earlier, Janardan Sharma, Ram Karki, Pravu Sah, Hitraj Pande and Dhaniram Poudel were discussed in the Maoist Centre as possible ministerial candidates. During a meeting of the Maoist Centre headquarters on Friday, the party had also discussed about sending at least two women to the government. “But the prime minister has not revealed the names of the leaders who are set to be inducted into the government on Sunday,” said Malla. Dahal so far has included three leaders from his party in the government, two each from the NC and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and one from the CPN (Samyukta).

The Cabinet expansion has also been delayed due to the NC, as the general convention the Nepal Students’ Union, the party’s sister wing, is underway.

Last week, NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba  informed PM Dahal that the party would send ministers to the government after the conclusion of the NSU convention. The NSU convention, which is taking place almost after a decade, was supposed to conclude on Tuesday, but it was extended following internal disputes. Dahal on Saturday also briefed Bhandari of government decisions and its activities.