Several leaders and activists from Nepal’s mainstream political parties have joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), including Kumar Khadka, former Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Gandaki Province.
The new members formally entered the party during a membership interaction and mass entry programme organised by the RSP in Pokhara on Saturday. Along with Khadka, those joining the party included Milan Thapa, a general convention representative of the Nepali Congress, and Pushparaj Adhikari, a former Gandaki Province committee member of the CPN-UML, as well as other leaders and grassroots activists.
The newcomers were welcomed by RSP Vice-Chair Swarnim Wagle, party leaders Manish Jha and Kabindra Burlakoti, and senior provincial leaders. Khadka began his political career with the Akhanda Nepal Party.
After the party later merged with the Nepali Congress, he was nominated by the Congress as a proportional representation member of the Gandaki Provincial Assembly and went on to serve as a provincial minister. However, the Congress expelled Khadka from the party after accusing him of playing a role in the defeat of then Social Development Minister Bindukumar Thapa in the province.
Milan Thapa, who also joined the RSP at the event, is the daughter-in-law of Bindukumar Thapa. Active in social organisations, including the Lions Club, she had previously been recommended by the Nepali Congress as a candidate for deputy mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City. Her husband, Dhruv Thapa, is a former president of the NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal.
During the Gen-Z movement, protesters set fire to Thapa’s automobile showroom. Acts of vandalism, looting, and arson were also reported at properties linked to Bindukumar Thapa, including Bagaincha Resort and Anshubhara Square.
Former Pokhara-based pilot Madan KC also joined the RSP during the same programme.
According to RSP Gandaki Province General Secretary Nabin Tripathi, a large number of leaders and activists from the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML across Kaski district and other parts of Gandaki Province have recently joined the party, reflecting growing political realignments in the region.
