Kathmandu, May 6

Naya Shakti Party-Nepal and Federal Socialist Front-Nepal today formally announced their merger to form Samajwadi Party-Nepal.

Former prime minister and NSP-N Coordinator Baburam Bhattarai chairs the federal council of the new party, while FSF-N Chairperson Upendra Yadav will chair the central committee. Ashok Kumar Rai will be a senior leader of the party and Rajendra Shrestha its co-chairperson.

The new party has eight vice-chairpersons — Navaraj Subedi, Parshuram Khapung, Yubaraj Karki, Rakam Chemjong, Renu Kumari Yadav, Hisila Yami, Lal Babu Raut and Hemraj Rai.

Ganga Narayan Shrestha, Ranadhwoj Kandangwa, and Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav are its general secretaries.

The party has three deputy general secretaries, three secretaries and a treasurer.

As per the unification agreement, the new party will institutionalise federal democratic republic and steer the country towards progressive transformation, sustainable development and equitable prosperity through people’s struggle and constitutional amendment.

The agreement states that the party’s political ideology is ‘Prosperous Federal Socialism’ — an enhanced version of socialism and federalism in the changed Nepali context. The unified party has also proposed directly-elected executive president and fully proportionally represented Parliament.

Another proposal is to amend the constitution to create 11 provinces as recommended by the High-Level Recommendation Commission on State Restructuring. The party envisages restructuring of bureaucracy and strengthening of constitutional bodies.

Speaking at an event to announce the merger, Bhattarai said they were not only unifying two parties, but also unifying the entire country. He, however, said Tarai-Madhes would be the centre of their politics.

Explaining the rationale for the merger, Bhattarai said they were presenting the new party as an alternative to both the capitalists led by the Nepali Congress and the communists led by the Nepal Communist Party. “Both these political ideologies are on the verge of collapse globally, so we present an alternative in the form of Prosperous Federal Socialism,” he said.

Stating that ‘regressive forces’ ruling the country were trying to sabotage political achievements, such as federalism, Bhattarai warned of launching a decisive movement soon if the government failed to amend the constitution to make it acceptable to all sections of society.

On the occasion, Yadav said both the NC and the NCP had become irrelevant. Accusing the NCP of corruption, he said the NC was yet to leave behind its ideology of ‘constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy’.

“These parties cannot institutionalise federal democratic republic,” he said.

He said the constitution should be amended to strengthen federal governments and local bodies should be brought under them.

Yadav also called all, including Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, to join forces for a decisive socialist movement to strengthen democracy and bring about real transformation in the country where nobody is left behind.

Senior leader Rai said unification gave them the required energy to throw away regressive and corrupt forces from Singha Durbar and lay the foundation for good governance and prosperity.