Gaurikumari Yadav Appointed Minister as Sushant Vaidik Served Unpaid in Industry Ministry

March 11, Kathmandu: When Prime Minister Balendra Shah took his oath on March 26 and reshuffled his cabinet, he retained the Defense Ministry alongside the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies. Informally, Shah had assigned Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) MP Sushant Vaidik to work at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies. However, in the latest cabinet reappointments on Friday, the responsibility of the ministry has been formally handed over to Gaurikumari Yadav, who was elected from Mahottari-4.

Soon after the elections, Vaidik, who was even considered for the position of Finance Minister, was engaged by the Prime Minister to “observe” the ministry’s functioning. According to ministry sources, MP Vaidik regularly visited the ministry in recent times. He held discussions with secretaries, joint secretaries, and chief division chiefs to understand the department’s challenges and to seek advice on potential solutions. A senior official described that Vaidik actively shared his perspectives on reforms within the ministry, consulting with top-level staff.

Vaidik also engaged with senior officials of the Nepal Oil Corporation and the Office of the Company Registrar. Furthermore, he consulted the heads of eight major divisions under the Ministry of Industry. A senior ministry official stated, “He was gathering information on problems and possible reforms and consulting the views of employees.” Vaidik holds a postgraduate degree in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE) and another master’s in Economics and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in Norway.

Despite his contributions, Vaidik was not appointed minister in Friday’s reshuffle. Instead, Gaurikumari Yadav has been appointed Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, while Ramji Yadav was named Minister for Labor, Employment, and Social Security. Gaurikumari Yadav entered RSP days before the elections and successfully won her seat. According to Subham Yadav, RSP chairman for Mahottari, Gaurikumari was previously active in social work rather than in active politics. He explained, “She did not engage in active politics before but was involved in social service.” Her husband, Shivji Yadav, was affiliated with the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) but has now also joined RSP following her election, as confirmed by Subham Yadav.

The newly appointed minister is 54 years old, has studied until the ISC level, and was elected from the Sangrampur area of Mahottari with a significant margin. She secured 30,132 votes, defeating the JSP candidate Surendra Kumar Yadav by approximately 22,000 votes.