The RSP won 20 seats under the first-past-the-post electoral system, emerging as a new political force. Karki’s contention is that since two women party candidates had already won under the first-past-the-post electoral system, the party needed just five women PR candidates to meet the 33 percent women’s participation.
In an interview with AP1 Television, Central Committee member of the party Karki said party leadership does not want to hold discussions on pressing intra-party issues. The party leadership breached the rules set by the party while selecting the candidates under the PR category, Karki said. Karki joined the RSP as a representative of Kathmandu mayor, Balendra Shah. A party source requesting to conceal his name said Karki’s entry in the party was a result of a compact between Shah and Lamichhane, who are apparently planning for a campaign to do away with federalism. It is noteworthy that in the Nov 20 elections, the RSP didn’t contest for provincial assembly seats and Shah didn’t cast a vote for provincial candidates. Another source said Shah’s supporters in the party are unhappy with the leadership’s decision to block Karki’s nomination. Some say this could lead to potential insurrection and factionalism inside the party. Already, Lamichhane and his close aides are facing criticism of holding clandestine meetings and trying to suppress dissenting voices inside the party. On the night of Dec 16, Lamichhane called on CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli to discuss the power-sharing deal. The meeting was kept secret from the media as well as the party members. The media caught wind of the meeting after two days, but the subject of discussion between the two leaders remains a secret. Lamichhane is also accused of keeping Monday’s meeting of the parliamentary party under wraps. The meeting, held at a hotel in Budhanilkantha to elect the PP leadership, however, failed to pick deputy PP leader, chief whip and whip following a disagreement among party members. The intra-party dispute is deepening and Lamichhane and the co are scrambling to keep it from spilling out in public. To this end, the party leadership has directed the central members and lawmakers-elect from speaking with the media. In order to keep Karki from raising further ruckus, the party leadership is trying to entreat him with a promise of a seat in the National Assembly. Biraj Bhakta Shrestha is the only lawmaker-elect from the party who is close to Shah. Shah had played a significant role to ensure the electoral success of Lamichhane’s party. The same team behind Shah’s local election campaign had supported the candidates of RSP. Karki was one of the chief strategists in Shah’s election campaign. “Shah’s campaign team was instrumental for the party’s success in the federal election,” a party leader said. “Karki’s entry in the party was a result of quid pro quo agreement between Shah and Lamichhane.” Shah and Lamichhane decided to work together because they shared a similar political line of dismantling the provinces. Karki has also confirmed the mutual point of interest that brought them together. One leader said the only reason Shah has not joined the party is because he won the mayoral election as an independent candidate. “Him joining the party now will not be good for the reputation he has built as an independent,” the leader added. While there are only a few indications of Shah’s support to the RSP, one of them being his decision not to vote for provincial election, Lamichhane has openly endorsed the independent mayor as an agent of change. Shah’s win in the local election had also given Lamichhane the confidence to form a party to challenge the old established political forces. Another leader requesting anonymity said Shah had shown an undeclared support to the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which he proved by distancing himself from the ‘lauro’ (walking cane) campaign. When Shah ran in the mayoral race, he was assigned a walking cane as his election symbol. The cane would go on to become more than an election symbol throughout Shah’s campaign and after his election victory. It became a symbol of support and trust for many voters disenchanted with the old parties. It was also a symbol of warning for mainstream political parties and their leaders. The ‘lauro’ campaign continued to gather momentum until the elections to the federal and provincial elections. When Suman Sayami, who had lost the mayoral election to Shah, decided to file his candidacy in the federal polls from Kathmandu-8, he fashioned the ‘lauro’ campaign as his own to attract voters. There was a widespread public belief that Shah was going to support Sayami. But when Sayami and his Hamro Nepali Party was dragged into a controversy for co-opting the ‘lauro’ campaign, Shah came forward to clarify that he had nothing to do with the party and its candidates. At the time of the controversy, Shah had already agreed to support Lamichhane and his party, a party leader said. It remains to be seen what will happen to the Shah-Lamichhane relationship, and by extension, to the RSP with more disputes likely to come to a head. There are also differing opinions about the party joining the government. Some leaders are of the view that the party should join the coalition government, while others say the party should remain in opposition. But Santosh Pariyar, a lawmaker-elect from the party, denied reports of disputes. Initially, there were some issues regarding the selection of PR candidates, which has since been resolved, he said. He added recent meetings of the party's Parliamentary Party and Central Committee have decided to safeguard the party’s unity and work toward addressing the people’s demand.
