Rastriya Prajatantra Party General Secretary Dhaval Shamsher Rana Prepares to Form New Party

Kathmandu. RPP General Secretary Dhaval Shamsher Rana is busy preparing to form a new party. He has announced his resignation from the post of RPP General Secretary and is preparing to form a party.

Dissatisfied with the working style of RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden for a long time, he has called a meeting of his close associates at Yellow Pagoda in the capital on Monday for the purpose of forming a new party. Daman Basnet, a leader close to him, told Ratopati that their path will be formally decided from this meeting.

According to Basnet, a collective resignation announcement is being prepared after Monday's meeting. 'RPP is no longer like a party, it has become just a place for Rajendra Lingden and Gyanendra Shahi to do as they please,' Basnet told Ratopati. 'We will now work to build a nationalist force. Our goal is to create a constructive nationalist party that can challenge independent parties.'

He also claimed that about 100 leaders, including the General Secretary, would collectively leave the party in Monday's announcement. When asked about the formation of a new party and the dissatisfaction, General Secretary Dhaval Shamsher Rana responded that he was busy with discussions and meetings. He said, 'I am currently in an important meeting, let's talk about this later.' After that, he has not been reachable.

According to sources, leaders like former minister and leader Dilnath Giri, Dilbikash Raj Bhandari, Daman Basnet, Sagun Lawati, and Narayan Koirala are actively involved in this split.

Sources claim that discussions are underway to make businessman Durga Prasai the supreme commander and Dhaval Shamsher Rana the chairman of the new party. If the talks with Prasai do not work out, there is a plan to form a royalist party under Rana's leadership.

Although senior leaders of RPP have tried to prevent this internal rebellion, they have not been able to resolve it. According to sources, Kamal Thapa and Dr. Lohani spent a long time persuading Dhaval Shamsher at Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani's residence on Sunday.

Similarly, Pashupati Shamsher Rana also urged Rana not to leave the party and to wait for the upcoming general convention. However, Rana rejected the leaders' proposal, accusing Chairman Lingden of not running the party according to the statute and intending not to hold the general convention.

Sources say that plans are also being made to include individuals with royalist and nationalist images such as Swagat Nepal, Geeta Rana, Santosh Rajabadi, and Pashupati Khadka in the new party.

Meanwhile, as the party reached the brink of division, former chairman Kamal Thapa has publicly appealed for unity.

Thapa, mentioning that there are some problems and distortions within the party and that their resolution can be sought within the party, said through social media, 'The upcoming general convention will provide new energy and direction to the party. The leadership must embrace everyone and create an environment where everyone is respected and feels a sense of belonging within the party. Keeping this reality in mind, I appeal to the party workers and supporters not to consider leaving the party or becoming inactive. Let us unite to make Rastriya Prajatantra Party a common force for all nationalist Nepalis and a strong national alternative.'

RPP spokesperson Mohan Shrestha said that Rana is a responsible leader of the party and he does not think that he will choose the wrong path at a time when everyone should work together to make the party an alternative force.

Not New, RPP's Split
Splits have occurred in RPP repeatedly. The formation of RPP, which has a majority of former Panchas, has a history of starting with a split.

After the restoration of democracy in 2046 BS, during the process of former Panchas organizing themselves, two RPPs were announced at the same time due to disagreement between then leaders Surya Bahadur Thapa and Lokendra Bahadur Chand over who would become the chairman.

RPP leader Janakraj Pathak recalls that two parties were announced on the same day, May 15, 2047 BS, due to the dispute. Accordingly, leaders including Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Pashupati Shamsher Rana, Prakash Chandra Lohani, and Padmasundar Lawati formed RPP (Chand) at Pashupati Shamsher's house, while Surya Bahadur Thapa, Balram Gharti Magar, and others announced RPP (Thapa) at the house of multi-party leader Tshering Tenzing.

The journey of RPP, which started with division, has a long series of splits and mergers. The two RPPs that split in 2047 BS merged for the first time in 2051 BS.

After the RPP led by Chand won 3 seats and the RPP led by Thapa won 1 seat in the 2048 BS elections, both parties realized their mistake and merged in 2051 BS. In its 36-year history, RPP has split 10 times.