Kathmandu, Dec 30: Two separate agreements involving Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair Rabi Lamichhane, Ujyalo Nepal Party (UNP) patron and Energy Minister Kulman Ghising, and Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah suggest that the next election will mainly be a contest between old and new political forces.
A seven-point agreement signed on Monday between RSP chair Lamichhane and UNP chair Anup Kumar Upadhyay states that Ghising will become a vice chair of RSP. Just a day earlier, another seven-point deal between Lamichhane and Mayor Shah named Shah as the prime ministerial candidate and leader of the RSP parliamentary party. Under that agreement, Lamichhane will lead the party, while Shah will lead the government.
Representatives of the Gen Z generation say the deal has sparked fresh hope. Gen Z Front adviser Saroj Gautam said they are highly encouraged by the agreement. “This deal rings alarm bells for the musical chairs of Deuba, Oli, and Dahal,” he said. “I see a possible wave in favor of Balen and Rabi, similar to the Modi wave in India in 2014.”
Political analyst Chandra Dev Bhatt believes the move could also push older parties toward polarization. “I now see the possibility of alliances among parties like Congress and UML,” he said, adding that the development could shake established forces. According to him, the coming together of three well known figures who claim to challenge traditional parties could affect election results. Still, he said it is too early to predict outcomes, though new alliances and coordination are certain to grow.
Nepal’s major parties have a long history of forming electoral alliances. Congress–Maoist and UML–Maoist partnerships have occurred many times in the past. After the Gen Z movement, unity talks among like-minded groups had already begun.
Meanwhile, the CPN (Maoist Centre), along with the CPN (Unified Socialist) and 14 other parties, has already formed a new Nepal Communist Party (NCP). Madhesh based parties have also largely come together.
On the final day for submitting closed lists under the proportional system, parties other than UNP and RSP also moved toward unity. The NCP merged with the Nagarik Unmukti Party led by Ranjita Shrestha. NCP coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal, co-coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Unmukti Party chair Shrestha signed a 10-point agreement.
Meanwhile, Renuka Yadav, co-chair of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) led by Ashok Rai, and deputy general secretary Pradeep Yadav quit the party and joined the parties led by Upendra Yadav and Mahantha Thakur. JSP Nepal, chaired by Upendra Yadav, and the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP), chaired by Thakur, agreed on Sunday to unite.
Earlier, LSP, Hridayesh Tripathi’s Janata Pragatisheel Party, and Brishesh Chandra Lal’s Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party had already announced unity.
Another analyst, Nilamber Acharya, warned that agreements based mainly on power sharing could send a message that “all leaders are the same.” Even so, he said unity should be taken positively. “It is better to unite than to scatter,” he said. “It builds a stronger force and benefits democracy.”
People’s News Monitoring Service
Comments:
Leave a Reply