The Nepali Congress will not be sending state ministers to the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government before Dashain holidays owing to disputes among several quarters within the party.

As the agenda failed to make it to NC’s parliamentary party meet in Singha Durbar on Thursday, party leader Chin Kaji Shrestha confirmed that their state ministers would only be inducted after Dashain holidays.

NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had earlier set sights on sending state ministers by Friday, is facing intense pressure from both his and the rival camps to accommodate the high number of aspirants.

Ram Chandra Poudel, Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Khum Bahadur Khadka—all of whom run their own mini groups within the party—have demanded a stake in the state minister berths.“Our party president has been in regular consultations with the prime minister as well as within the party to pick state ministers,” NC leader Gopal Man Shrestha told the Post. “We were adamant to send them before the Dashain holidays,” said the leader close to the party president.

According to sources, Deuba had initially asked for nine state ministers, but PM Dahal has reportedly asked him to keep it to either seven or eight berths.

But the Poudel faction is said to have poured cold water on the party president’s plan to give it two berths, while handing one each to Sitaula’s and Khadka’s group.

Leaders close to Poudel insist that if the party gets eight berths, their faction would need four state ministers. “By no means will we settle for two,” Poudel told the Post. “The party president should make up for the injustice done while sending ministers earlier.” Of the 15 NC ministers, five represent the Poudel faction.

From the establishment side, Min Biswakarma from Sunsari, Abdul Razak from Rupandehi, Dilip Gachhadar from Morang, Dirgha Raj Bhatt from Kailali, Sitaram Mehta from Sunsari, Dhurba Wagle from Tanadhu are likely contenders, while frontrunners from the Poudel faction include Surendra Acharya from Kapilvastu, Kanchan Bade Shrestha from Kavre and Jeevan Pariyar from Kaski. Sudhir Siwakoti or Tara Man Gurung will likely come from the Sitaula faction.

Sources also claimed that Deuba wishes to send state ministers in an inclusive manner, taking into account the representation of states and communities.

PM Dahal, who had kept four ministries—Drinking Water and Sanitation; Livestock Development; Women, Children and Social Welfare; Science and Technology—to himself for fringe parties willing to join the government, is now set to distribute one ministry each to the NC and the Maoist Centre. According to sources, he plans to give the other two to the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik led by Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar.