Kathmandu, September 14
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has formed a special team to resolve organisational disputes in Madhesh Province, where party conventions have yet to be held in seven of the province’s eight districts.
The RSP held its first general convention in Chitwan in late June. However, only Parsa has completed its district convention in Madhesh, while conventions in the other seven districts remain pending.
Against this backdrop, the party’s Central Committee formed a Madhesh Province Organisation Audit Committee under the coordination of co-general secretary Hari Dhakal at its meeting on August 21.
The committee has been conducting discussions and consultations by visiting the districts directly. Besides Dhakal, the committee includes party leaders Surendra Chaudhary, Ashok Kumar Chaudhary, Pramod Neupane, Jagadish Kharel and Poonam Agrawal.
The team began its organisational audit in Parsa and has since completed discussions in Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Janakpur and Mahottari. It is scheduled to hold discussions in Saptari on Monday.
The team plans to visit all seven districts, assess the organisational situation and identify ways to resolve the disputes before returning to Kathmandu.
According to an RSP leader, a power struggle between party lawmakers and the organisation at the district level has prevented the conventions from being held in Madhesh.
As a result, representatives from the previous organisational structure in all Madhesh districts except Parsa participated in the party’s general convention in Chitwan.
Even in Parsa, the district convention was held a day later than scheduled following an internal dispute. There had also been tensions between an elected lawmaker and the district organisation, with then-district chair Hari Pant eventually winning the contest.
The RSP is now working to resolve the disputes and pave the way for conventions in the remaining districts. The Central Committee formed the audit committee under Dhakal specifically for this purpose.
A member of the committee said the team is expected to return to Kathmandu on Wednesday after completing discussions in Saptari.
Party chair Ravi Lamichhane is then preparing to visit Madhesh Province.
During his visit, Lamichhane is expected to take initiatives to resolve the disputes based on the problems identified and recommendations put forward by the special team.
