KATHMANDU, JUNE 27

Dissatisfaction has erupted in the Rastriya Swatantra Party over a disagreement between Chair Rabi Lamichhane and General Secretary Mukul Dhakal.

The feud has piqued people's interest, especially after Dhakal toured over three dozen districts and submitted a 32-page review report to President Lamichhane on Wednesday.

The report was prepared in response to the RSP's poor performance in the Ilam by-elections, in which it suffered defeat, despite Lamichhane's popularity and people's expectations for an alternative face.

The report, based on Dhakal's on-site observations, stated that the party's situation was 'very dismal' and was headed in the wrong direction.

From May 19 to June 19, Dhakal visited 38 districts and submitted a report on the party's political stance. The report, however, sparked disagreements between him and Lamichhane.

In the Ilam by-election, the party candidate struggled to maintain popularity, so Dhakal was tasked with gathering suggestions and submitting a report. Dhakal, who met with over 3,000 people in 38 districts, compiled a report and presented it to the party's president.

A few days ago, the chair, general secretary, and other party officials were discussing the matter. The meeting concluded that the report was not in the party's best interests. As a result, it was decided not to make it public.

Secretary Dhakal expressed that he made the report after undergoing a lot of suffering. However, it appears that the party chair has not taken the report seriously.

Following a signal from Chair Lamichhane that his report would not be discussed, Dhakal publicly questioned the party's future. 'A dark cloud has eclipsed the bell,' he said. 'We will have to make tough decisions to get rid of the cloud.'

Dhakal also stated that if elections are held now, the RSP will be unable to establish itself as a national party. 'According to my report, in the current situation, RSP can only become a national party and win a few seats directly if it continues to decline at this rate,' Dhakal added.

According to Dhakal, who is also a doctor, the party is ill and should be treated as soon as possible. 'I think a little surgery is required,' he said.

The Dhakal review report has also suggested restructuring the federal structure and removing provincial levels. He said, 'RSP should vehemently stand in favour of removing the provinces and collaborating with emerging leaders such as Balendra Shah (Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor), Harka Sampang (Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor), and Gopal Hamal (Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor) rather than traditional parties and leaders, including CPN-UML chief KP Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also president of CPN-MC.'

During the 2022 election campaign, RSP leaders, particularly chair Lamichhane, harshly criticised traditional party leaders and urged voters to remove them from power.

However, the RSP leaders are now accused of colluding with the same old parties and leaders, particularly the CPN-UML. Furthermore, when Lamichhane was linked to various scams, most recently the routing of cooperative funds to Gorkha Media Network, the party lost its lustre, resulting in a poor performance in Ilam-2.

Lamichhane was also questioned about a conflict of interest during the Ilam-2 election campaign because his ministry was in charge of the police unit that was looking into these types of investigations.

On March 4, RSP became a part of the PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal government once again and RSP President Lamichhane negotiated his way back into the home ministry and three other strong ministries, including the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLES) and the Ministry of Youths and Sports (MoYS).