Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) has decided to unify with the CK Raut-led Janamat Party.
NUP 's central committee meeting, held on Friday and Saturday, formed a task force under the coordination of lawmaker Ganga Ram Chaudhary to facilitate unification. The task force includes Sunita Chaudhary and Ram Lal Chaudhary as members.
“This task force will prepare a merger proposal. We will present this proposal to the Janamat Party. After that, there will be in-depth discussions on ideology, perspectives, policies, and leadership. If we reach an agreement, the merger will happen soon,” Ganga Ram Chaudhary, the task force coordinator, told Setopati.
According to him, the unification process has already progressed significantly. NUP had been engaged in internal discussions after the Janamat Party formed a task force for the same purpose.
Notably, there had been a lack of consensus between NUP Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha and patron Resham Chaudhary regarding unification.
A few days ago, a discussion took place between NUP Chairperson Shrestha and Janamat Chairman CK Raut at the parliament premises in New Baneshwor.
As the opinion within the party grew stronger in favor of unification, Shrestha also agreed to the merger.
Party leader Damodar Pandit stated that three objective bases for the merger have been established.
Abandoning a secessionist movement, CK Raut formed the Janamat Party on March 18, 2019. In the meantime, the party participated in some local by-elections in Madhesh province but did not achieve favorable results.
While Resham Chaudhary was in prison, NUP was established on January 3, 2022. His wife, Ranjita Shrestha, became the party chairperson.
In the local elections held in April 2022, NUP secured a strong position in Kailali.
Both Janamat and NUP participated in the House of Representatives (HoR) and provincial elections for the first time in 2022.
Currently, Janamat has six HoR members, while NUP has four. Janamat also crossed the 3 percent threshold in the proportional representation system, earning recognition as a national party. NUP, on the other hand, won three seats through direct elections. Resham’s father, Lalbir Chaudhary, contested as an independent candidate and joined NUP after winning a HoR seat.
Since both parties advocate for identity-based politics, NUP leader Damodar Pandit said this has opened the door to the possibility of a merger.
“There is ideological similarity between the two parties. This party was formed by Resham ji while he was in jail. Janamat has a similar background. Since both emerged from movements of a similar nature, the possibility of a merger has strengthened,” Pandit told Setopati.
He added that as both parties are new to parliamentary politics, unifying would make it easier to establish the people’s issues.
“When parties sprout like mushrooms, it doesn’t benefit the country. Parties with aligned ideologies, issues, and priorities should unite. We’ve agreed on this in principle, which has strengthened the possibility of a merger,” Pandit said.
Interestingly, Janamat Chairman CK Raut also addressed NUP’s central committee meeting on Saturday. “There were talks of uni-ty in 2022. The process didn’t move forward then. We made a mistake at that time, and we shouldn’t repeat it now,” Pandit quoted Raut as saying.
Additionally, Vice Chairperson of the Nepal Samajwadi Party (Naya Shakti) Manushi Yami Bhattarai also attended the NUP central committee meeting and addressed the gathering.
She said she had come with a message from her father, and par-ty Chairperson Baburam Bhattarai.
“My father’s message is that you two parties should unite. He said his daughter (me) is with you two (CK Raut and Resham Chaudhary). He extends his best wishes for collaboration and unity,” Pandit quoted Bhattarai as saying.
Pandit added that this should be seen as a step toward unifica-tion not just with Janamat but also with other like-minded smaller parties.
“CK Raut and Manushi Yami Bhattarai addressing the meeting’s closing session is an indication of that. We will also hold dia-logues with other identity-based and new parties,” he said.
