Rastriya Swatantra Party Lumbini Province First Convention Begins in Dang

Butwal. Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Lumbini Province's first provincial convention is starting from Saturday in Ghorahi, Dang. The party has given special importance to the convention, which is being held with the objective of electing new leadership.

According to the RSP's statute, a 57-member provincial working committee will be elected from the convention. The working committee will have a chairman, a vice-chairman, a general secretary, two joint general secretaries, a treasurer, a spokesperson, and other members. It is stipulated that one of the joint general secretaries must be female and the other male.

The party had completed the conventions of 11 out of 12 districts in Lumbini Province just a few days ago. New leadership has been elected from those districts, and the process of selecting representatives for the provincial convention has also been completed.

According to Gopal Ghimire, a member of the party's central organization department, district-level representatives, central representatives, coordinators of 26 federal constituencies, district working committees, local level chiefs, and representatives from the provincial working committee and provincial-level departmental committees will participate in the provincial convention. He stated that at least three women and nine representatives from each provincial departmental committee will participate.

RSP, which achieved significant success in the Lumbini Province in the House of Representatives elections, aims to make its future political journey more effective by focusing on leadership selection. Leaders say that the party, which has shown an influential presence in 21 out of the 26 federal constituencies in the province, is looking for leadership that will expand its organization and strengthen its public base.

Provincial Chairman Devraj Pathak told Ratopati that the convention preparations have reached the final stage and all arrangements are being completed in Ghorahi. He said, 'We are in the final stage of convention preparations. Friends from the districts are coming to Ghorahi. Everyone is working hard to make the convention grand and organized.'

The convention, which will begin with an inaugural session on Saturday, is expected to determine the future leadership and organizational direction of RSP in Lumbini Province.

Who is vying for the chairmanship?

So far, the names of a few leaders have come up for the provincial chairman position. More than half a dozen leaders have expressed their aspirations for the leadership of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Lumbini Province.

Some leaders from the current provincial working committee and those active in building the organization within the party are also preparing to claim the chairmanship. However, since the candidacy registration process has not yet begun, the final list of aspirants has not been officially released. Most have announced their candidacy through social media.

According to party sources, efforts will be made to select the leadership by consensus, but if necessary, new leadership will be elected through elections.

A five-member election committee has been formed to conduct the convention. Election committee member Sudan Gyawali told Ratopati that the election committee meeting will be held on Friday evening to prepare the election schedule.

'Our plan is to hold the election tomorrow itself, but before that, we are preparing the schedule to manage processes like voter list publication and candidacy registration,' Gyawali told Ratopati.

Although the formal election schedule has not yet been made public, various leaders have announced their candidacies through social media, while some have intensified meetings and discussions with representatives.

Among the potential contenders for the chairmanship are the current provincial chairman and House of Representatives member from Dang-1 Devraj Pathak, provincial organization department chief Dr. Rajkumar Subedi, federal MP Manju Bhusal, provincial vice-chairman Shalikram Ghimire, provincial general secretary Nilraj Adhikari, central organization department member Gopal Ghimire, and Rupandehi's Madhu Aryal and Ganesh Poudel.

Various leaders have also started announcing their candidacies for other positions in the provincial working committee through social media and publicizing their agendas. Current provincial chairman Devraj Pathak stated that he is in favor of selecting the leadership by consensus. 'I am discussing with friends with the proposal that the leadership should be selected by consensus rather than through election,' he said.

Federal MP Manju Bhusal claimed that there is a need for female leadership in the province and that she is a capable candidate for the chairmanship.

Although the number of aspirants appears high at present, a provincial member said that the picture of the real competitors will become clear after the candidacy registration.

Given that leadership has been elected through voting in most conventions at the local and district levels, leaders believe that the possibility of consensus in the provincial convention is weak. The election committee has stated that it is making necessary preparations, anticipating that voting may be necessary due to the large number of aspirants.

Meanwhile, some leaders said that a decision on whether to proceed with consensus or election will be made after political equations and discussions on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.