Janmat Party Chairman CK Raut Announces Retirement from Parliamentary Politics, Party Leaders Express Concern

Kathmandu. Leaders of the Janmat Party appear concerned following the announcement by party chairman Dr. CK Raut that he is stepping away from parliamentary politics. Chairman Raut announced that he will not engage in parliamentary politics but will focus on the organizational and struggle-oriented politics of the party.

Some leaders have urged him to reconsider this decision. Party General Secretary Chandan Singh stated that although Chairman Raut's decision is personal, as the party chairman, it could potentially harm the party.

General Secretary Singh said, 'We have asked him to reconsider his decision. Madhesh has reached a state similar to that of 2046 BS; we need a leader from the party to raise the ideas, issues, and agenda of Madhesh in the parliament. We have urged him that such a personality is also needed, but he has not given any response.' However, he clarified that since Raut's decision is personal, he cannot comment much on it. He clarified that Chairman Raut himself has been given the authority to make decisions on these matters.

Raut, who started the movement for an independent Madhesh, entered mainstream politics by forming the Janmat Party in 2075 BS. In the 2079 general election, he was the sole candidate contesting in the direct election. He garnered significant attention by defeating the Chairman of the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Upendra Yadav, from Saptari-2.

Chairman Raut claimed that he contested the election twice against his personal wishes. He stated that he filed his candidacy in the 2079 general election due to the necessity of establishing the party and pressure from colleagues. He claimed that this decision enabled the party to enter parliament and laid the foundation for becoming a national party.

According to him, in the previous election in 2079, he was also against contesting the election and was forced to file his candidacy at the last moment following requests from workers and leaders, even though preparations were made to field other candidates in Saptari-1 and 2. He said, 'If I hadn't contested, the party's morale would have dropped, and the entire blame for the defeat would have fallen on me.' After the election results, he expressed on social media that his decision to contest was correct.

He clarified that in the future, he will have no desire for positions or parliamentary politics, announcing his retirement from these aspects. He stated that he is not leaving politics but will serve the people through the path of struggle. He has also directed the party to remain prepared for the upcoming local and provincial level elections.

Some leaders have also viewed Chairman Raut's renunciation of parliamentary politics positively. Janmat Party Secretary and Madhesh Province Assembly Member Sanjay Yadav said, 'Our chairman has done exemplary work in Madhesh, forcing chairpersons of other parties to think. If all members become MPs and ministers, who will run the party? The chairman has left parliamentary politics because a person needed to run the party as well.'

Secretary Yadav stated that he will now move forward with organization building, formulating various strategies, and focusing on ideology, principles, and struggle. He added, 'Now he will prepare leaders like himself in the party and send them to parliament; soon there will be many C.K.s in parliament, not just one C.K.'