Kathmandu, Oct 8 (IANS): After much delay and criticism, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday expanded his cabinet and gave it full shape, after serving nearly three months in office.

Deuba was sworn-in as the Prime Minister on July 13 and had formed a four-member cabinet. Later he inducted one foreign minister and one state minister, but due to dispute and disagreement inside the ruling alliance of five different political parties, Deuba was struggling to expand the cabinet since then.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has expanded the cabinet as per the recommendation of Prime Minister Deuba, a statement issued by the President's office read.

Deuba has kept the key ministries with his own party, Nepali Congress.

Nepali Congress has received the portfolios of Defence, Home, Foreign Affairs, Information and Communication, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

As per the constitutional provision, the size of the cabinet cannot exceed 25. So on Friday, Deuba added 21 more ministers from Nepali Congress, and three other ruling alliances -- Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Centre), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) and Janata Samajbadi Party.

In the new expansion, five ministers have been appointed from the Nepali Congress, three from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), four each from the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Janata Samajbadi Party. The CPN (Unified Socialist) and CPN (Maoist Centre) have also got one state minister each.

Earlier, three ministers from Nepali Congress, two ministers from Maoist Centre, and one from Nepali Congress were part of Deuba's cabinet.