Rastriya Swatantra Party Faces Internal Strife Amidst Leadership Tensions

Kathmandu. Signs of deepening internal conflict within the ruling party Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) are evident. The RSP, which emerged as a powerful party on the foundation of the Genji movement last August, has seen internal dissatisfaction publicly spill over just 100 days after forming a government with a single majority. Leaders' statements clearly indicate the difficulty in balancing power between the party and the government due to a lack of political experience and the influence of various interest groups. The amended party statute, approved at the first general convention held in Chitwan from June 22-27, includes a provision for the removal of the parliamentary party leader if they fail to obey the chairman's directives, a clause that Prime Minister Balen Shah and his group appear apprehensive about. The convenor of the statute drafting committee was Bipin Kumar Acharya, close to Chairman Rabi Lamichhane. Other committee members included Ganesh Parajuli, Dr. Chanda Karki, Prakashchandra Pariyar, and Sushant Baidik. Those close to Prime Minister Balen suspect that convenor Acharya drafted Article 68 of the statute in a way that would be convenient for Rabi Lamichhane, allowing for the removal and recall of the parliamentary party leader. 'The draft of the statute was not even distributed to the central members. Bipin ji read it quickly in the general convention hall. There was no discussion on the draft. Everyone clapped and it was over,' a leader considered close to Prime Minister Balen told Ratopati. The leader believes that internal conflict within the party could escalate over the provisions in Article 11(a) and 68(a) 3 of the statute. The provision allowing the chairman to remove the parliamentary party leader at any time could put Prime Minister Balen in a difficult position. Amidst discussions of growing distance between Chairman Rabi and Prime Minister Balen, this provision in the statute is being analyzed from various angles in political circles. Former General Secretary of RSP, Dr. Mukul Dhakal, has accused that such a provision was made to prevent Balen from working for five years. 'The statute passed by the RSP general convention contains serious conspiratorial provisions designed to prevent the Balen government from lasting five years. The time when the sacrificing leader will sacrifice his sacrifice seems to be coming soon,' he wrote on social media Facebook. As the RSP circles were stirred by the provisions in the statute, central member Ganesh Karki said, 'If we are to think, let's think well; if we are to go back, let's go back to the 7-point agreement.' On social media Facebook, Karki stated, 'If we are to go back, let's return to that agreement, where it was clearly stated: Rabi Lamichhane is the leader of the party, and if a government is formed, it will be under Balen Shah's leadership. The RSP received nearly a two-thirds majority from voters based on the trust in that agreement. The RSP's general convention also approved that.' He clarified that the agreement is the basis for the party's path, leadership, statute, and policies for the next five years. Karki added that there is no need to doubt that no one will deviate from the agreement. 'Let's assume that any suspicious things are technical glitches and will be corrected. If we don't stick to the agreement, if we play with the agreement, it will be over,' he wrote on Facebook, 'But that end will not be just of the party and the leader, but also of the possibility of change, of trust, and of honesty. Let's not think that anyone wants to walk the path of complete destruction.' Statute drafting committee member Dr. Chanda Karki asserted that the provision in the statute was made with everyone's consent. She claimed that no one had a dissenting opinion from the committee, secretariat, central committee, and the general convention closed session when the provision was included. 'The amended statute includes a provision for a senior leader. This is not a permanent position. According to the practices so far, the chairman is the leader of the parliamentary party,' Karki said, 'That provision applies to the senior leader, but not to the chairman. It has been included in the statute with a long-term perspective.' Both Rabi and Balen had moral support for the Genji movement held on September 9 and 10 last year. The Genji movement not only toppled the old state power but also destroyed important state assets. After the Genji movement, the interim government led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki dissolved the parliament elected on February 14, 2023, and announced elections for March 10. Fear of imprisonment if the old parties were re-endorsed by the elections led Rabi and Balen to unite. Their alliance, due to their popularity among the youth, led to unprecedented results in the elections. After the formation of the government, expressions from ruling party MPs indicate growing conflict between Rabi and Balen. MP Ramesh Prasai criticized the government's performance in parliament on Monday regarding the Karnali bus accident. He urged the Home Minister to respond to the incident. RSP Chief Whip Krantishikha Dhital accused the government of being incompetent in managing landless people. She stated that the government's work and actions were not in line with the election manifesto. 'The tears of the landless people flowing on the streets today should sting all of us. The management of landless people was extremely necessary, but did it happen according to our manifesto? Is this how a parental state behaves?' she wrote on social media, questioning the government, 'The sensitivity, planning, and responsibility with which this work should have been carried out did not happen. This only exposes the weakness and incompetence of the state.' Speaking in parliament a few days ago, Genji leader and MP Purushottam Yadav accused the government of being in Kumbhakarna's sleep even as youth were falling into the quagmire of drugs. He expressed the need to wake the government from its slumber by ringing a bell. Before that, MP Dr. Amaresh Kumar Singh had made strong remarks about the government's working style. Accusing the government of moving towards a Pakistani model, he warned that if old things are destroyed in the name of building new ones, the country's identity would be lost. Seeing the possibility of rebellion in the Madhesh region due to Singh's remarks, Chairman Rabi met separately with MPs elected from the Madhesh region. As RSP MPs began criticizing the government in parliament and on social media, the parliamentary party instructed MPs to show their 'speech and note' to the chief whip before speaking. However, Chief Whip Prakashchandra Pariyar asserted that it was not an attempt to censor MPs but to maintain the dignity of the parliament. 'To maintain the dignity, prestige, spirit, weight, and responsibility of the parliament, MPs have been instructed to organize themselves before speaking in parliament,' Pariyar said, 'This does not mean trying to censor MPs. It is to maintain the dignity of the language style used by MPs in parliament. It is not an attempt to curb the freedom of speech of MPs as reported in the media.' Rabi and Balen, sensing the growing dissatisfaction and factionalism within the party, gave clarifications during the inauguration session of the general convention. 'If we sow the seeds of factionalism, it will bear poisonous fruit tomorrow. If such a situation arises, we may have to cut down that tree. If we cannot get rid of factionalism, no force will be needed to bring down RSP. We will stumble and fall by getting entangled in our own feet,' Rabi had said. Before Rabi spoke, senior leader Balen had urged leaders and cadres not to engage in forming factions or groups. He had said, 'Don't chase after forming groups. Don't sow such seeds now that they grow into trees tomorrow and have to be cut down. Therefore, let's not sow and grow such seeds. Let's learn from the old leaders.' The things they said at the open session of the general convention did not even last three days. Due to the inability to manage their close general convention representatives, the three-day general convention was extended to six days. The active efforts throughout the night before June 21 to bring Rabi's close associate Bipin Kumar Acharya as General Secretary clearly show that the leadership did not trust the non-establishment faction. Chairman Rabi himself was active in making Acharya the General Secretary unanimously. It was evident that the main leadership did not trust anyone other than Acharya for the position of General Secretary, considered the most important after the chairman. The establishment side openly soliciting votes and forming alliances to ensure the victory of their close associates in the general convention further fueled the internal conflict. For the position of General Secretary, candidates from the RSP establishment group included Rabindra Burlakoti, Shishir Khanal, Bipin Acharya, Manish Jha, Ganesh Parajuli, and Pramod Neupane. Ganesh Karki, considered the permanent opposition within the party, along with the Balen group's Sagar Dhakal, Rajunath Pandey, and Ranju Darshana from Bibeksheel Sajha, also filed nominations. As the confrontation between the establishment factions for the General Secretary position appeared to benefit the Balen group, efforts were made throughout the night to increase support for Acharya. By the morning of June 21, Burlakoti, Khanal, Darshana, Parajuli, Neupane, and Darshana withdrew their candidacies and announced their support for Acharya. Jha and Karki refused to withdraw their candidacies. Former General Secretary Burlakoti attempted to reassure the general convention representatives, stating that the party built with hard work was about to disappear. Party member Parajuli, facing accusations of factionalism, explained that he supported Acharya despite the stigma, as the party appeared to be falling into the hands of others. 'It seemed the party was going into the hands of others before our eyes. Rather than letting the party we built with hard work slip from our hands, we supported Bipin by enduring the stigma,' Parajuli had said. Besides these issues, discussions suggest that the conflict between the party and the government is escalating due to the bulldozer action in slum areas against party policy, the Prime Minister's secretariat attempting to exert undue surveillance and control over inter-ministerial affairs, intimidating administrative officials, constitutional bodies, and businesspeople, the government's lack of diplomatic maturity with neighboring and friendly nations, its lack of accountability to parliament, the Prime Minister's controversial statement on borders in parliament against party interests, and the Prime Minister and ministers making statements contrary to the rule of law. Twelve days after the general convention concluded, Chairman Rabi has not yet nominated office bearers and central members. According to a senior RSP leader, the party did not interfere until 100 days after the government was formed. He clarified that from now on, activities against party interests would not be tolerated. 'It is not good for the party to interfere or criticize within 100 days of the government's formation. The government is proceeding at its own pace. The party is proceeding at its own pace. It is not good to criticize every action of the government,' the leader said, 'If the government's activities put the party in trouble or go against party policy, then intervention will occur. We should not think from the perspective that everything has gone wrong or that it is unable to work right now.'