The unity agreement between the Rastriya Swatantra Party and Ujyalo Nepal, a political group close to Kulman Ghising, has collapsed within 12 days.
Despite repeated discussions between Rastriya Swatantra Party Chair Ravi Lamichhane and Ghising regarding the implementation of the decision taken on Poush 14 to move forward with party unity, the two sides failed to reach a consensus, leading to the breakdown of the agreement on Friday.
Secretariat Briefing and Decision
According to party sources, Lamichhane briefed the RSP secretariat during a virtual meeting held on Friday afternoon that the party had been unable to preserve the unity process despite showing maximum flexibility.
“Following the earlier agreement on party unity, I adopted the highest possible level of flexibility, but the situation has now reached a point where unity with Ujyalo Nepal must be suspended for the time being,” Lamichhane was quoted as saying by a secretariat member. “I was unable to save the unity agreement.”
Disagreements Over Structure and Seat Allocation
The secretariat member said Ujyalo Nepal maintained firm positions on several issues, including demands to change the party’s name and insistence on allocating specific constituencies for direct elections, which the RSP leadership was not prepared to accept.
“They demanded specific constituencies, which was not possible at this stage,” the member said. “There was also dissatisfaction regarding proportional representation, with discussions moving toward seat-based power sharing. Proposals were even made to consider unity only after winning elections.”
The source further said demands were raised regarding the size and composition of the central committee and office-bearer positions, including claims that fewer positions than those held by Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah would not be acceptable.
According to RSP secretariat member Shishir Khanal, the meeting formally decided to suspend the unity process with Ujyalo Nepal for the time being. Meanwhile, a leader from Ujyalo Nepal said the unity effort collapsed because the Rastriya Swatantra Party failed to acknowledge their political strength.
