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Kathmandu: Unity talks held until late Sunday night among Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, and Ujyaalo Nepal Party patron Kulman Ghising have failed to reach an agreement. Leaders involved say efforts to bridge differences will continue today.

“Today is the final day to submit the closed list of proportional candidates to the Election Commission. Keeping that deadline in mind, there will be another attempt to reach an understanding with Kulman,” a leader said.

Sources say unity talks between Kulman’s side and the Progressive Democratic Party also failed to make headway.

Discussions among Rabi, Balen, and Kulman had been ongoing for several days. After no progress with Kulman, Rabi and Balen signed a seven point unity deal on Sunday morning. Pressure from Gen Z youth leaders to include Kulman led to renewed talks later in the day, which continued until midnight.

The talks broke down over disagreement on the position Kulman would hold in the unified party. Several Gen Z activists even went to Kulman’s residence late at night to urge compromise, but the gap remained.

A central member of the Ujyaalo Nepal Party said talks failed because Rabi and Balen did not agree to give Kulman the post of co chair or accept a proposal for rotating the prime ministership. After the Rabi Balen agreement, RSP vice chair Dr Swarnim Wagle also said in an interview that the talks stalled after Kulman sought an executive chair role.

Earlier on Sunday, Kulman told a district gathering in Pokhara that new parties should unite and said he was open to cooperation that respected dignity and self respect.

Sad to see Kulman apart: Sudan Gurung

Sudan Gurung, a founder of Hami Nepal, who had been pressing for unity among the three, also joined the midnight talks. After they failed, he posted on Facebook at 1 am, calling it sad that Kulman appeared separate at such a decisive moment for people seeking change. He urged all major forces to stand together, saying the country needs unity, not division.

Earlier, during unity talks between Rabi and Balen in Lalitpur, Gurung had even locked the meeting room from outside to push them toward an agreement.