Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen) has formed a 15-member Council of Ministers, establishing a new government under the Rastriya Swatantra Party. The cabinet includes 10 men and five women ministers, and all members were sworn in on Friday.
Shah has retained key portfolios, taking charge of both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Industry. Swarnim Wagle has been appointed Finance Minister and holds the second-highest rank in the cabinet. Sobita Gautam has been assigned the Ministry of Law, while Shishir Khanal has been appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs.
In a contentious appointment, Sudan Gurung, one of the controversial figures linked to the September events, has been appointed the Home Minister.
Gurung is the same person who threatened the country’s president during negotiation after September protests and violence, at a time when public anger and confusion was at peak. He then maintained a firm bottomline: scrap the House of Parliament, a stance that many “Gen-Z” protestors, including him blindly held following instructions from then Kathmandu’s Mayor Balen Shah. Gurung also made a controversial remark that he wouldn’t let the elections happen if there is no assurance that they would win the elections against mainstream parties.
His appointment now places him in charge of overseeing the investigation of the same protests, violence and law-and-order issues that he was directly involved in, and is even implicated in, according to several reports. The move stands in stark contrast to the RSP’s pledge to ensure effective governance, as the individual implicated in one of the country’s most significant crises is now tasked with leading the ministry responsible for addressing it.
Gurung has consistently demonstrated a limited understanding of the country’s constitution and governmental procedures. He publicly demanded the resignation of previous Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, accusing him of betrayal for failing to prosecute senior officials involved in the September protests, despite the formation of Gauri Bahadur Karki-led commission.
Entrusting a controversial figure who himself behaves unruly and with such gaps in knowledge and processes with a sensitive portfolio like Home Affairs reflects a lack of maturity in decision-making, told a former senior public official from the country’s security agency to the_farsight. His role itself must be investigated in everything that occurred on September 8 and 9, he adds.
This is not the first instance of the RSP appointing a minister whose portfolio is closely tied to a major national controversy. In March 2024, party chair Rabi Lamichhane, implicated in the cooperative scam, was reappointed as Home Minister. He continued in the role until July 2024, when the government changed after a new coalition emerged.
Here’s how the cabinet looks:
Meanwhile, dissatisfaction has reportedly surfaced with the cabinet selection. There are reports that Amresh Kumar Singh declined to join the government, while others state that the new PM withdrew his name from the list at the final moments. Singh was initially expected to be appointed as Minister of Industry, but the portfolio is now retained by Shah.
According to Bizmandu, Singh stated through Facebook Messenger that he had refused the position, though he did not specify the reason and declined to comment further. Sources indicate that he had sought the Energy Ministry and chose not to join the cabinet after the role was assigned to Shrestha.
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