New Cabinet of fifty three Ministers include thirteen members from the main opposition, UNP, and the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress

The former deputy leader of the main opposition, United National Party (UNP), led the party's latest dissident group.

Ten members of the UNP have sworn in as Cabinet Ministers on Sunday at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

The leader of the latest UNP dissident group, Karu Jayasuriya, was not re-appointed as the Deputy Leader in last December's party convention

Peace negotiators of the former UNP administration, Prof. GL Peiris and Milinda Moragoda, are also among the leading UNP figures crossed over to the government.

List of new Ministers

Three members of the UNP were already serving as ministers before the reshuffle.

First reshuffle

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader, Rauff Hakeem, has sworn in as a Cabinet Minister before the President after joining the government with five other MPs.

A presidential spokesman, Lucien Rajakarunanayake, told BBC Sandeshaya that eighteen members of the opposition UNP crossed the floor.

In the first reshuffle since taking over presidency in November 2005, President Rajapaksa has sworn in 52 parliamentarians as Cabinet Ministers.

The President retained the Defence and Finance portfolios.

104 Ministers

Thirty three Non-cabinet ministers and nineteen deputy ministers were also sworn in before the President on Sunday.

With the latest reshuffle, 104 members of the 225-member parliament are ministers and deputy ministers.

Correspondents say the defections may scupper an agreement between President Rajapakse's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the opposition UNP to work together towards a political solution to the long-running Tamil separatist conflict.

The dissidents however argued that the MoU was "ineffective" without a working arrangement with the government.