It has emerged that even three years after integrating and assigning responsibilities to leaders from from the broader polarization faction led by Rabindra Mishra, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has not updated their details at the Election Commission.
Only the details of the 199-member RPP working committee, elected during the December 2021 general convention, have been updated with the Election Commission, while the RPP currently has around 300 central committee members.
The broader polarization faction, led by Mishra, had left the Bibeksheel Sajha Party and merged with the RPP.
The unification between the RPP and the broader polarization faction was announced on September 28, 2022.
At that time, a four-point agreement was reached between RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden and former Bibeksheel Sajha Party chairman Rabindra Mishra.
According to the agreement, Mishra would serve as a senior vice-chairman of the RPP and be included in all leadership committees of the party.
The integration of the central leadership, including the central working committee office-bearers and central committee, would occur within 7 to 10 days of the unification announcement, based on the understanding between Lingden and Mishra.
A four-member task force, consisting of two members each from the RPP and the broader polarization faction, would be formed to facilitate integration at provincial and other levels.
With the elections drawing closer, all would prepare vigorously for the elections in a united manner while continuing the integration process without halting work.
Despite this agreement, the RPP has not updated the Election Commission with details of leaders from the broader polarization faction, including Mishra, for nearly three years.
“Politically, Rabindra Mishra is a senior vice-chairman in the RPP, but the RPP has not legally updated the Election Commission with details about him and us. The reason for this is known to Chairman Rajendra Lingdenji, but those who talk about the statute also face questions of legitimacy. They (some establishment leaders who are going around interpreting the statute) are not listed as legitimate central committee members in the Election Commission’s records,” said Ranjan Karki, a central committee member close to Mishra. “The statute envisions a 199-member central committee, but it does not recognize us, including Senior Vice-Chairman Mishra, even to this day.”
Karki also said that Chairman Lingden must adhere to the statute. “Currently, work is not being done as per the statute, and we oppose this,” he said.
According to Karki, the RPP has not updated the Election Commission with the names of 40 leaders, including Mishra, who joined the party. “I checked at the commission myself; only the 199-member working committee from the 2021 general convention is updated. Our names are not there,” he said. “The RPP gave us various positions, but they are not legally valid because the RPP establishment has not provided these details to the Commission.”
It is alleged that Chairman Lingden himself has not sent the details of 40 leaders including Mishra for updating. The issue was repeatedly raised in the party’s central committee and central working committee meetings.
It has been found that even after formal decisions by the central committee and central working committee to update details of Mishra and other leaders with the Election Commission, no updates have been made.
“Despite this, the senior vice-chairman has been fully cooperating with the chairman. The concept of a new RPP and new understanding was brought by Mishraji. He believes in advancing the party and has supported the chairman in every way, including training. He has always maintained a balanced role, but after recent developments, he has remained silent,” said a leader close to Mishra. “Despite the four-point agreement reached during the unification and Senior Vice-chairman Mishra’s continuous support to the chairman after that, he [Lingden] did not update our details with the Election Commission, which naturally raises questions!”
Lingden had nominated Mishra as senior vice-chairman, Sharad Raj Pathak as general secretary, Ujwal Krishna Shrestha as joint general secretary, Amrit Pudasaini as joint general secretary, Hari Krishna Adhikari as assistant general secretary, and Saurendra Bahadur Shah as assistant general secretary from those who left Bibeksheel Sajha.
“Chairman Rajendra Lingdenji talks about integrity, but his activities show contradictions in his convictions. He did not provide full support to the movement for the restoration of monarchy either,” said an office-bearer close to Mishra, criticizing Lingden. “Even though the central committee and working committee instructed him to update the leaders’ details, he has been defiant. Maybe this means he will use it as a weapon if he is in a difficult position some day!”
Currently, Lingden is taking action against nominated office-bearers. On July 9, he removed Nawaraj Subedi as disciplinary committee chair and Sagun Sundar Lawati as party spokesperson. On July 18, he sacked Mukunda Shyam Giri from the positions of vice-chairman and central committee member.
Party leaders including Prakash Chandra Lohani, Nawaraj Subedi, Mukunda Shyam Giri, Vice-Chairman Bikram Pandey, General Secretaries Dhawal Shumsher Rana, and Kunti Kumari Shahi have opposed these actions. They have urged Lingden to retract the decisions and proceed in accordance with the statute, but Lingden has said that those forming factions and not cooperating with him were removed.
“Since the unification, we have repeatedly urged in central working committee and central committee meetings to update the leaders’ details with the Election Commission for legitimacy, but it has not been done to this day,” said a leader close to Mishra.
The RPP’s central working committee meeting held from January 24 to 26 had issued a directive to immediately update details of the leaders with the Election Commission, but it has not been implemented for more than five months.
As Lingden did not update their details on time, some leaders who joined the RPP from Bibeksheel Sajha have become inactive. “The chairman has not listened despite requests to update the commission with details of leaders who were given various positions after unification and grant them legitimacy. Many leaders integrated at the central and district levels have remained inactive. It will harm the entire RPP!” he said.
An office-bearer close to Lingden accused Senior Vice-chairman Mishra of not cooperating with the chairman and playing a role in forming factions. However, he admitted that the issue of their names not having been updated with the Election Commission was new to him as well.
“The chairman brought Mishraji into the RPP as senior vice-chairman (third in rank), but Mishraji, along with Prakash Chandra Lohani, General Secretary Dhawal Shumsher Rana, and others, looked for ways to put the chairman in a difficult position. Recently, by pushing Nawaraj Subedi forward, he made it seem like individuals are bigger than the party on the monarchy agenda, even serving as member secretary himself. But I don’t think the chairman hasn’t sent their names to the Election Commission merely for this reason,” the office-bearer said.
Lingden had appointed former chairman Lohani as chairman of the central directive committee. While Lingden was abroad, at Mishra’s urging, the Lohani-led directive committee sent a letter to RPP lawmakers in Koshi not to take the speaker’s position. Lingden expressed serious disagreement with this.
Lohani sent the letter on January 9, 2024, advising against taking the speaker’s position in Koshi. Despite that, RPP lawmaker Ambar Bahadur Bista became the speaker of Koshi provincial assembly.
RPP spokesperson Mohan Kumar Shrestha confirmed that the details of Senior Vice-chairman Mishra and other leaders from the broader polarization faction have not yet been updated with the Election Commission.
“The details of Senior Vice-chairman Mishraji and other leaders have not been updated with the Election Commission. We are in the process of collecting all documents and updating them,” he told Setopati. “It’s not that we haven’t updated them intentionally.”
The RPP has over 300 central committee members, but only 199 are updated with the Election Commission. “Central committee members have been appointed based on political decisions, so there are around 300 members. We will collect all documents and update them,” he said.
According to an office-bearer recently removed by Lingden, the exact number of central committee members in the RPP is not clear.
“We can’t say exactly how many central committee members our party has. The chairman keeps appointing central committee members without consulting anyone. He doesn’t believe in collective decisions,” the office-bearer said. “With the general convention approaching, he might be appointing those close to him as central committee members to secure a majority and extend his term. One day, if a decision is to be made on an issue or vote division occurs, maybe we’ll find out how many central committee members the RPP has.”
Recently, Lingden has been removing nominated office-bearers and leaders. While vice-chairmen and general secretaries elected alongside Lingden in the December 2021 general convention have issued statements opposing these actions, Mishra and other nominated office-bearers have remained silent. Leaders close to Mishra say his silence is due to the fact that the RPP has not updated the names of 40 leaders including him with the Election Commission for nearly three years.
