Former lawmaker Dhawal Shumsher Rana, who recently formed the Jaya Nepal Party and has already held its first central committee meeting, met former king Gyanendra Shah and held a conversation lasting around two hours.
Rana, chairperson of the Jaya Nepal Party, and former king Shah met at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on Saturday.
They were both attending an event organized by the Himani Trust. During the event, Rana and Shah reportedly set aside time for a one-on-one conversation lasting about two hours, according to Jaya Nepal Party leaders.
Sagun Sundar Lawati, head of the Jaya Nepal Party secretariat, told Setopati that Shah and Rana discussed current political developments. According to him, the meeting was “productive.”
We also spoke with Rana about the meeting.
According to Rana, the nearly two-hour discussion covered the formation of the Jaya Nepal Party, its objectives, and the country’s current political developments.
“We have formed the Jaya Nepal Party. I also informed him about it. We exchanged good wishes, and had a long conversation about the current political and social situation,” Rana said. “He gave his best wishes on the formation of the new party. He also offered his views and advice. The king never says anything negative; I found him to be positive toward everyone.”
Former king Shah advised Rana to move forward by bringing everyone together.
Rana also informed Shah that the party had already completed its first central committee meeting and that it had adopted a course of action aimed at building public support for the monarchy and a Hindu state.
Rana said that the party would also contest the upcoming local and provincial elections.
“We will participate in the provincial and local elections. I informed him about that as well. We are looking across the country for good people to field as candidates, and we have already called for candidates,” Rana said. "We call upon educated colleagues with the drive to improve local levels to become candidates."
Rana formed the new party after resigning as general secretary of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). He said that although he had met the former king after a long time, Shah was already aware that Rana had left the RPP and formed a new party.
