Rabi Lamichhane won a second term as head of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) without facing a challenger. Bhuvan KC, chief of the party’s Central Election Commission, said Lamichhane was the only candidate for president and was declared elected on Tuesday night at the first general convention, held in Chitwan.
The party is four years old, founded in 2022. Its maiden convention drew 3,849 representatives. Nominations for Central Committee posts ran until midnight on Tuesday, and voting for the other leadership positions was set to begin at 8:00am the next day. Election officials estimated that more than 4,500 eligible voters would need around eight hours to finish.
Oath taken, committee left half-built
The formal steps came later. Lamichhane took the oath of office in Bharatpur on June 26. On July 1 he swore in the newly elected central committee members and office bearers at the party’s central office in Ghantighar, Banasthali.
But the structure is not finished. The commission announced the convention results on June 26, electing Lamichhane and 99 central committee members. Under the statute the committee has 158 seats. Those are 150 elected and nominated central members, seven provincial chairpersons who sit ex officio, and the chair himself. That leaves 51 seats that Lamichhane must fill by nomination.
The executive is in the same state. Only seven of the 19 office-bearer positions, one of which is senior leader, were filled by election. The convention picked Swarnim Wagle and Sobita Gautam as vice-chairpersons, Bipin Acharya as general secretary, and Asim Shah, Nisha Dangi and Hari Dhakal as joint general secretaries. The other 12 posts go to the chair’s nominees, who then need the central committee’s endorsement. They include a senior leader, a vice-chairperson, a general secretary, two joint general secretaries, a spokesperson, three joint spokespersons, a treasurer and two joint treasurers.
Delegates at Chitwan reached an understanding to name Prime Minister Balendra Shah as senior leader.
What the party says about the delay
Acharya said the next central committee meeting would take up the nominations. “The chairman is actively holding discussions on the nominations. The process will not take long,” he said.
Joint general secretary Asim Shah said the chair and the prime minister would settle the list together. “The party chair and the senior leader will sit together to finalise the 51 nominated central committee members and the remaining office bearers,” he said. Women hold 51 percent of the elected committee, and he said there is broad agreement to keep that level while also ensuring inclusiveness. He described an agreement in principle between the two men and added that the office-bearer appointments were “not a contentious issue.”
The sticking point is how to divide the nominated seats between camps. Senior RSP leaders say Prime Minister Shah’s side wants to recommend at least half of the 51. “Once the party chair determines how many seats will be allocated to that side, formal recommendations will be submitted,” a senior leader close to Shah said. No names have gone forward yet.
Party leaders say there is a broad understanding that the nominated vice-chairperson will come from Shah’s camp. Sunil Lamsal, the minister for physical infrastructure, was first seen as the frontrunner. Home Minister Sudan Gurung has since emerged as a strong contender. The argument, according to senior leaders, is between Lamsal’s seniority and long involvement in the party, and Gurung’s standing among younger supporters, his representation of indigenous nationalities and his role in keeping Lamichhane and Shah coordinated.
The general secretary post is also open. Bhoop Dev Shah held it from Shah’s camp, and talks are underway about giving him a different responsibility, which could bring in a new face. Senior leaders attribute the delay to the effort to balance gender, geography, social inclusion, factions, and a mix of experienced and emerging leaders. They insist there is no serious dispute.
Sources
- RSP leadership appointments delayed as Lamichhane and Shah divide positions
- Lamichhane elected unopposed as RSP President
