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What did Upendra Yadav gain from his merger with Ashok Rai?

L-R: Upendra Yadav and Ashok Rai

Kathmandu, December 18

Upendra Yadav’s Madheshi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal decided to merge with Ashok Rai-led Federal Socialist Party to form today’s Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal around two years ago. The major objective behind the unification was removing the ‘Madhesh-centric’ tag and become a national party.

After the unification, the party became an amalgamation of Madheshi and Janajati leaders advocating for identity-based federalism. But now, the party seems to have lost its target for it failed to get endorsed from voters residing in hills and mountains in recent provincial and federal parliamentary elections.

Voters garnered by the party in plains, however, is impressive under both first-past-the-post and proportional representation systems. It is all set to lead the provincial government in Province 2 in partnership with Mahantha Thakur’s Rastriya Janata Party Nepal.

The Forum-Nepal got around 470,000 votes in the PR polls. However, the number of votes from hills and mountains is below 30,000 though Rai-led Federal Socialist Party alone had received 120,000 votes in the second Constituent Assembly elections in 2013.

But, Rai himself lost the FPTP polls in Sunsari-1 this time despite the support extended by Nepali Congress.

Other ‘hilly’ leaders of the party also lost the polls.

Leader Angkaji Sherpa, however, does not agree with the statement that the party’s support in hills has weakened. He is of the view that hilly voters got a wrong impression that the party named ‘Forum’ belongs to Madhesh.

“In the previous polls, we were accused of being pro-ethnic and against Bahuns and Chhetris. Now, there is an illusion that we are Madhesh-centric. Therefore, we could not get as many votes as expected.”

A Madheshi leader of the party, however, concludes that Upendra Yadav gained nothing from the unification.

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