Kathmandu, August 19
Two national parties have officially split on Wednesday after the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government introduced an ordinance easing requirements for the split.
The Madhav Kumar Nepal-led faction of the CPN-UML has applied for the registration of a new party named CPN-UML-Samajbadi whereas the Mahantha Thakur-led faction in the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSPN) proposed a new party named the JSPN-Loktantrik.
Both the groups submitted documents required for the new party to the Election Commission on Wednesday, but the commission is yet to approve either. It is said the constitutional body will take around two weeks to study the documents and make final decisions.
Some sources say the commission will not approve the proposed names of the CPN-UML-Samajbadi and the JSPN-Loktantrik as these names seem similar to the existing UML and the JSPN hence will give new names.
The UML was on the verge of a split since February this year as Madhav Kumar Nepal was forced to return to the KP Sharma Oli-led party as the Supreme Court reinstated the pre-2018 CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre.
The JSPN, on the other hand, had already virtually split with two factions taking action against each other and calling the commission to recognise one side as the legitimate one. The commission, then, had granted the previous party name and symbol to the Baburam Bhattarai and Upendra Yadav-led group.
