Kathmandu, October 23

Unity between Samajwadi Party-Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal will depend on the former’s willingness to quit the KP Sharma Oli-led government.

RJP-N General Secretary Keshav Jha said if the SP-N decided to quit the Nepal Communist Party (NCP)-led government, other issues, particularly the question of leadership of the unified party, might easily be addressed.

The RJP-N will watch what SP-N will decide regarding its partnership in the incumbent government on November 15 and 16 when the party holds its next Central Committee meeting.

Another top leader of the RJP-N said SP-N’s next CC meet would give the final answer on whether or not the two parties would unite.

“We want to unite with the SP-N because we want to create alternative forces that can pursue the cause of marginalised communities and groups and if the SP-N continues to be a partner in the NCP-led government, then our dream of creating an alternative force will not come true,” the leader said.

Member of RJP-N Presidium Rajendra Mahato said SP-N and RJP-N unity could create an alternative force that could uphold the dignity of excluded groups and communities. “The Nepali Congress talks of democracy and liberty whereas communist forces of the country only talk of the proletariat’s interests, but we want to champion the cause of all those who have been excluded from the mainstream and who are fighting for their identity and dignity,” Mahato added.

He said both the parties were positive about retaining the word Samajwadi and Janata in the name of the unified party, election symbol of the RJP-N and party flag of the SP-N. “Unless we establish a multi-nationalities’ country, we cannot achieve the goals of prosperity,” he added.

An RJP-N source who did not want to be quoted said some of the RJP-N leaders wanted to get equal status in the unified party but that may not be possible. “SP-N leaders have said that they might accord RJP-N leader Mahantha Thakur the number one rank in the party’s hierarchy, but not with executive power and I do not think Thakur will have any problem with this proposal,” the leader said and added that if RJP-N leaders still wanted to make politics a platform for power, money and prestige then they were wrong. “RJP-N failed because it gave equal status to all six members of the presidium although some of the embers did not deserve equal status,” the leader said in reference to RJP-N leader Rajkishor Yadav and Anil Kumar Jha.

SP-N Chair Upendra Yadav said his party had not thought of quitting the government yet. “If our party has to quit the government, then the party will take a decision about it. The next CC meeting can discuss the issues, but as of today, we have not thought of quitting the government,” Yadav said.

Recently, SP-N leader Baburam Bhattarai had said that the party should quit the government to build pressure on the government to amend the constitution.