The Election Commission has formed a bench to resolve the dispute in Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP).
Election Commission Spokesperson Raj Kumar Shrestha revealed that the bench led by the Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya will include all five commissioners. The bench will meet on July 18.
The Election Commission held discussion with the warring factions on Tuesday where the factions urged it to separate them.
Leader of the Thakur-Mahato faction Anil Jha said after the meeting that the two sides discussed about unity for a while before signing for separation with no chance of unity. "We have come signing on the minute saying we cannot move forward together and requesting for separation," Jha told reporters at the Election Commission premises. "Upendra Yadav broached the subject of separation."
The Yadav-Bhattarai faction had applied with the Election Commission for official recognition as per clauses 43 and 44 of the act related to political parties. The Election Commission then summoned both the factions for dialogue to try to resolve the dispute as per the act.
The warring factions of JSP have expelled each other as the internal dispute escalated in recent weeks. The Yadav-Bhattarai faction has clear majority in the 51-strong executive formed after unification of Federal Socialist Forum Nepal and Rashtriya Janata Party Nepal and has already expelled five leaders from the Thakur-Mahato faction including Chairman Mahntha Thakur and Rajendra Mahato. The Thakur-Mahato faction in turn has expelled Upendra Yadav.
Both the sides wrote to the Election Commission informing about expulsion of the leaders of the other faction but the Election Commission decided to not officially recognize action by both the factions. The Election Commission said the previously submitted details about party office-bearers will remain official as per Clause 25(6) of the regulation related to political parties.
JSP Chairman Upendra Yadav again staked claim for official recognition with the Election Commission. Thakur responded staking claim for official recognition calling himself the first chairman
The latest letter sent to the Election Commission by Thakur massively reshuffled the 51-strong executive committee formed after unification of Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN) and Rashtriya Janata Party Nepal (RJP).
He has unilaterally removed 20 members from the Yadav-Bhattarai faction and replaced them with leaders close to him. The newly inducted members include 14 coming from the erstwhile FSFN and six from RJP.
The Thakur-Mahato faction claims that the executive committee meeting on December 22, 2020 has granted Thakur the authority to make changes in and reshuffle the executive committee in capacity of the first chairman. The faction has also submitted copy of the decision taken by the meeting that day.
Thakur then called meetings of the reshuffled executive committee and endorsed parliamentary party statute and elected Rajendra Mahato as parliamentary party leader. The reshuffled executive committee also decided to support Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli. The Thakur-Mahato faction has support of 20 out of the 32 JSP lawmakers in the dissolved House.
The Yadav-Bhattarai faction, meanwhile, has accused the other faction of forgery claiming that the party has not taken any decision to recognize Thakur as the first chairman and grant him the authority to reshuffle executive committee.
