The Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal (JSP-N), one of the coalition partners in Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda-led government, has split after a majority of its lawmakers and over two dozen central committee members applied for a new party at the Election Commission of Nepal.

A faction of the JSP-N led by the party’s federal council chair Ashok Rai registered the application for a new party while the party’s chair Deputy Prime Minister Upendra Yadav, who is also Minister for health and population, is on a trip abroad.

Pradip Yadav, a lawmaker of the JSP-N, said that 29 central committee members and seven lawmakers have jointly applied to form a new party. Of the party’s 12 House of Representatives members, seven — Ashok Rai, Sushila Sherstha, Pradip Yadav, Nawal Kishor Sah, Ranju Kumari Jha, Birendra Mahato and Hasina Khan — have supported the new party named ‘Janata Samajbadi Party’ (without the ‘Nepal’ of the mother party).

The Election Commission on May 6 officially recognised the Ashok Rai-led Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) as a new political party.

Party insiders said that Mr. Rai registered the new party at the advice of Prime Minister Prachanda to counter Mr. Yadav, whose relations with the ruling alliance have soured lately. There are reports Mr. Yadav was trying to ally with the Opposition Nepali Congress and the ruling party alliance CPN-Unified Socialist-led by Madhav Kumar Nepal after NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba reportedly offered the Prime Minister’s post to Mr. Yadav to topple the Prachanda-led government.

However, the ruling coalition consisting of the CPN-UML led by K. P. Sharma Oli and the CPN (Maoist Center) has managed to maintain a narrow majority in the Parliament with the latest political developments.

Leaders of the Ashok Rai-led faction claimed they had to revolt against the party leadership as Mr. Yadav was running the party in an autocratic way. “The chair ran the party unilaterally and disrespected lawmakers,” Mr. Pradip said.

Forest and Environment Minister Nawal Kishor Sah Sudi, who also quit the party, claimed that the need for a new outfit was felt after the chair tried to break the ruling coalition.

“We took this decision for the stability of the incumbent government,” Mr. Sudi said. “The party chair (Mr. Yadav) is against this coalition but we will continue to support this government.” “However, the party establishment’s leaders said the party has not split. Just a dissident faction has parted ways,” they claimed.

The split in the JSP-N will not affect the government’s stability at the moment, said Central Member of CPN-Maoist Centre Sunil Kumar Manandhar, who is also the former Minister for Environment amidst speculations that it might affect the coalition government.

“Unless the CPN-Unified Socialist and JSP-N withdraw support from the government there is no need to seek a vote of confidence by the Prachanda government,” Manandhar added. “Lawmakers alone don’t make a party. A majority of party leaders are with us,” said Manish Suman, the party spokesperson.

He added that less than 20% of the 300-strong central committee had left the party. The split follows a long-standing discontent in the party. Only after the pressure from the other faction, had the establishment side been ready to hold its general convention.

Mohammad Istiyak Rai, a leader of the party, had decided to challenge Mr. Yadav, the party chair, in the upcoming general elections. However, the party split before the convention could be held.

Rajendra Shrestha has been named the federal council chair of the yet-to-be-legalised party, which has announced a 31-member central committee. Rai is the chairperson while Renu Yadav has been named the joint chair. The party has four vice-chairpersons, a general secretary, deputy general secretaries and secretaries, among others.

Though the Rai-led faction has sought recognition as a new party under the Political Party Act, there are no clear legal provisions to guide the party formation process after a split in an existing one.

On August 18, 2021, the then Sher Bahadur Deuba government issued an ordinance to amend the Act to ease the split of two parties — the CPN-UML and the Janata Samajbadi Party.

Revising a provision in the Act, which requires the support of 40% of members in the Parliamentary party and the central committee to split the party, the ordinance lowered the bar to 20% in either of the committees.

On August 26 of the same year, Madhav Kumar Nepal of the UML and Mahantha Thakur of the Janata Samajbadi Party registered new parties, the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, respectively. Two days later, the ordinance was repealed, having served its purpose.

The provisions amended by the ordinance have become void after it was repealed. Though a bill to reactivate those provisions of the Act has been registered in Parliament, it is yet to be endorsed.

“We have received the application (on new party registration),” said Ram Prasad Bhandari, an election commissioner. “A proper decision will be taken after evaluating the existing legal provisions.” Before the split, in the 275-member federal lower house, the ruling coalition had 154 seats — 16 more than the magic number of 138.

Among them, the CPN-UML has 79 seats (including the Speaker and one suspended lawmaker), the CPN (Maoist Centre) has 32, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party has 21, the JSP-N has 12 seats and the CPN (Unified Socialist) has 10 seats. s

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the media personnel as Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, listens to him outside the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu, Nepal October 29, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday called on Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ after arriving here on first official visit to the Himalayan nation.

Mr. Guterres also held separate meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka and Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud.

In a post on X, Nepal’s Prime Minister’s office said a meeting was held between PM Prachanda and Mr. Guterres, who is here on an official visit to Nepal at the friendly invitation of the Prime Minister.

Mr. Guterres said that the transitional justice process in Nepal that the government is trying to conclude must help bring peace to victims, families and communities.

Addressing the media after meeting Prime Minister Prachanda, the U.N. chief pledged the world body’s support to Nepal to develop a process that meets international standards, the Supreme Court’s rulings, and the needs of victims — and to put it into practice, My Republica newspaper reported.

In a joint press briefing with Prime Minister Prachanda, the U.N. chief urged developed countries to increase support to countries like Nepal that are hard-hit by the impacts of climate change.

“Nepal is also caught in a blizzard of global crises not of its making: the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and the enormous threat posed by climate chaos,” he said.

He said that much more international action is needed. The developed countries must step up to support sustainable development, and help developing economies, including Nepal, to tackle the climate crisis, he said.

Mr. Guterres arrived here in the wee hours of Sunday on a four-day official visit. He was received by Foreign Minister Saud and senior Foreign Ministry officials at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

The U.N. chief was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport, said a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.

The U.N. chief is accompanied by Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean Pierre Lacroix, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations to Nepal Hanaa Singer-Hamdy and other officials from the U.N. Headquarters in New York and the United Nations country team in Nepal.

Mr. Guterres, who is visiting Nepal for the first time after assuming the U.N. Secretary-General post in 2017, will discuss with Nepal’s top leadership the matters relating to the peace process, sustainable development and climate change with Nepali authorities, the foreign ministry said earlier.

Starting in 2006, the peace process for inclusion of Maoist rebels in mainstream politics, issues relating to the implementation of transitional justice mechanism and truth and reconciliation commission, remains incomplete.

Mr. Guterres is scheduled to meet President Ramchandra Paudel later on Sunday.

The Secretary-General will have separate meetings with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML) Chairperson K.P. Sharma Oli.

He will also visit the Patan Durbar Square, a heritage site of historical and archaeological significance.

PM Prachanda will host a banquet reception on Sunday evening in honour of the Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General will also visit famous tourist destinations Namche, Pokhara, Annapurna Base Camp and Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini on Monday.

He would address a joint session of Nepal’s Parliament on Tuesday.