KATHMANDU, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The cabinet of Nepal has been expanded with five more ministers sworn in on Wednesday afternoon.

    Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, in the presence of President Ram Baran Yadav, administered the oath of office and secrecy to five more ministers, at the president's official residence in Kathmandu on Wednesday afternoon.

    The five ministers sworn in were Deepak Bohara (Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation), Ram Chandra Kushwaha (Minister for Education), Ganesh Nepali (Minister for Youth and Sports), Mrigendra Kumar Singh (Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives) and Sarad Singh Bhandari (Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation).

    Forest minister Bohora represents the National Democratic Party (NDP), Education minister Kushwaha and minister for youth and sports both represent the Terai Madhesh Democratic Party (TMDP).

    Similarly, minister for agriculture and cooperatives Singh, along with the minister for tourism and civil aviation, represents another Madhesh-based party, the Madheshi People's Rights Forum (MPRF).

    Except minister Bohara of the NDP, all four new ministers sworn in were Madhesh-based parties and leaders.

    Though this is the third time that the Nepali cabinet has been expanded, making an altogether 27-membered council of ministers, the cabinet has not been fully expanded. A three-member cabinet was formed on May 25 and was expanded to an 11-member cabinet for the first time on June 4 and was expanded the second time on June 17.

    The cabinet expansion was lingering due to the demand over power portfolios among the parties.

    Meanwhile, the second meeting of the cabinet is scheduled to be held just after the new ministers took the oath of office and secrecy.

    Prime Minister M.K. Nepal said earlier in his public speeches that the cabinet will include altogether 45 ministers from five coalition members. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), which is the third largest party in the Constituent Assembly (CA), is leading the coalition government.