Rastriya Swatantra Party Begins First General Convention

Chitwan. The first general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is scheduled to begin today. Party President Rabi Lamichhane and Prime Minister and senior leader Balendra Shah are scheduled to inaugurate the convention to be held at the Guesthouse Chaur in Bharatpur.

Most of the management work required to make the general convention organized and representative has been completed, informed RSP spokesperson Manish Jha. According to spokesperson Jha, the process of selecting representatives from districts, provinces, and foreign contact committees across the country has been completed. Work related to convention venue management, accommodation, transportation, security, and volunteer deployment has also been finished.

"RSP had formed 18 sub-committees and distributed the work for the convention. The process of selecting representatives is almost complete," said spokesperson Jha, adding, "Reports including political, economic, and organizational statutes have been prepared. The central committee, which met in Chitwan on Saturday, has amended the statute to be presented at the general convention."

The central committee meeting held in Bharatpur has also amended the party's structure. The secretariat has proposed to make the central committee 151 members by changing the statute. The meeting decided to amend the party statute to ensure the participation of women in the positions of senior leaders and office bearers.

"The central committee has amended the statute," said Ganesh Parajuli, a member of the party's secretariat and statute amendment committee, after the meeting. "It has been decided to make the central committee 151 members, including ex-officio provincial chairpersons."

Currently, RSP has 121 central members. According to him, there will be one chairperson, one senior leader, three vice-chairpersons including one woman, two general secretaries, five deputy general secretaries including one woman, one spokesperson, three deputy spokespersons including one woman, one treasurer, and two deputy treasurers including one woman. The current RSP statute does not mandate the inclusion of women among office bearers. After the amendment of the statute, this time, one vice-chairperson, deputy general secretary, deputy spokesperson, and deputy treasurer will be mandatory women.

Similarly, the statute has been amended so that the party president will nominate 51 central members out of the 151 members. Parajuli stated that discussions were held on the party president selecting one vice-chairperson, one general secretary, two deputy general secretaries, the treasurer, and the spokesperson, keeping in mind the broad political adjustments. Now, 99 central committee members will be selected through open competition in RSP.

The central members selected by the party president will be based on inclusivity. The statute stipulates that there should be five central members, including one woman, from each province. Spokesperson Jha stated that the party leadership has prioritized strengthening the organization, determining future political strategies, and electing new leadership through the general convention.

Spokesperson Jha said that there will be extensive discussions at the general convention on amending the party's statute, policy proposals, and contemporary political issues. He expressed confidence that the general convention will determine the party's future course of action, expand the organization, and further strengthen public relations. He stated that the votes received in the election are considered 'income' for the party. "We have also mentioned in the statute that we will expand the party organization at the local level," he said, "We do not have sister organizations."

There will be 3,918 representatives at the general convention. Of these, 300 representatives have been entrusted with the responsibility of nomination by the two general secretaries of RSP. RSP has reached five lakh party members. According to secretariat member Hari Dhakal, conventions have been completed in 610 local levels, and conventions have been held in 4,063 wards.

Similarly, conventions have been completed in six provinces and 64 districts, and representatives have been selected. Representatives have come to the general convention from ad-hoc committees of Madhesh Province and 13 districts where elections are yet to be held, informed Dhakal.