Kathmandu, December 10:

Pashupati SJB Rana has retained the chairmanship of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) for the second term after nobody filed candidacy for the post during the ongoing national convention of the party in Kathmandu.

Even though Gopal Koirala from Sunsari had taken a form to file his candidacy for post, he did not file the candidacy, party sources said.

Meanwhile, on the second day of the fourth national convention of the party today, the RPP endorsed all working papers, including the political paper presented by party spokesperson Parsuram Khapung and leader Khem Raj Pandit. The party also formally dropped constitutional monarchy from all its documents from today. The RPP has decided to take a middle-path and stand against any form of autocracy or dictatorship. “RPP will move ahead as a centrist party,” the political paper said.

While the party stressed on deciding the fate of monarchy through the constituent assembly election, some convention representatives, however, registered a different view saying that the issue of monarchy should be decided through a referendum. The political paper, however, states, “There can be no alternative to CA polls.”

Also today, 62 convention representatives filed their candidacy for 20 seats in the central committee. Likewise, 16 women candidates have filed their candidacy for the five seats reserved for women in the central committee.

The election scheduled for tomorrow will elect 25 central members, including five women, while the party chairman will nominate 25 members to the central committee.

A few representatives also proposed to change the name of the party from RPP to Rastriya Loktantrik Party, arguing that ‘Praja’ symbolises the ‘king’s people’.