Dhakal's Candid Report Jolts RSP

Rabi Lamichhane's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) rose to prominence in a relatively short time in the country's political arena. The party soared to fourth place in the 2022 general elections, winning 22 seats in the 245-member House of Representatives, only six months after its formation. Besides its immensely popular chairperson, Lamicchane, some relatively unknown faces won the first-past-the-post election, defeating candidates representing traditional parties, while the party received proportional votes equal to those of the CPN-Maoist Centre, rendering it an important component of the current government.

The RSP undoubtedly benefited from Lamichhane's popularity, as he was a well-known television anchor prior to his political career, who used to decry leaders and bureaucrats of all stripes for their shortcomings, making him a prominent figure and catapulting his newly formed party to an impressive position in the Lower House. If the party chooses to quit, the government will collapse, which further highlights the party's crucial role in current coalition politics.

Bombshell

However, the party is now facing risks as identified by none other than the party's general secretary. A few days ago, general secretary Mukul Dhakal dropped a bombshell, claiming that his party would do badly in the 2027 general elections, owing mostly to its recent plunge in popularity. He asserted that since the public perception of the party is declining and if harsh action is not taken, the RSP would not see it as a national party in the next election.

Dhakal produced an eye-opening 32-page report after touring 38 districts following the crushing defeat of the RSP candidate in the Ilam-2 by-election held in April, when the party's candidate, Milan Limbu, forfeited his deposit. Views and suggestions gathered from voters and party well-wishers led him to caution his leadership that the party's future might be jeopardised if immediate reforms on the party's political and ideological agenda, internal administration, coordination mechanism, organisational structure, and future course of action in accordance with the principles behind the RSP's formation, are not made and implemented. 

The report evaluates the RSP's failure to distinguish itself from other parties, the compromises the party has made with old parties, and the lacklustre role of its lawmakers and ministers. The paper also reminded the party leadership about embracing objectives that range from the elimination of provinces to strong local governance, directly elected prime ministers and presidents, and administrative changes. The report criticised the actions of RSP ministries and MPs and discussed how the premise that inspired the formation of the party was forgotten when ministers and legislators representing the RSP made blunders, taking the party to the brink of disintegration.

Following Dhakal's press meet in which he provided the report’s contents to media, the party served him with a clarification notice for disclosing the contents to the media while delivering it to the party chairman. The leakage of contents has enraged the party's leadership. The general secretary's report seems to be motivated by the present state of the RSP and its chair, whose popularity has plummeted immensely after the revelation of his suspected role in cooperatives fund misappropriation. The issue of possessing passports of two nations, for which Lamichhane is facing a legal case, has not done any good for the party's well-being. 

Similarly, the RSP and its chair's closeness to traditional parties such as the UML and the Maoist Centre, which has allowed it to remain in power with Lamichhane as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, has reduced the party's reputation in recent years, as many in the party have claimed. Several RSP workers and leaders, including the general secretary, believe that rather than being a coalition government member, the party should quit the government and participate in course correction by directly addressing common people's issues and concerns. The party should try to increase its popularity even more by engaging directly with its voters and the people at large to do better in the upcoming elections. 

Because certain mayors who won their elections on their own are highly popular in the nation, the RSP should team up with them rather than support the old parties. Mentioning that it is in the RSP's best interests to work closely with independents rather than the traditional parties, he listed the names of independent mayors Balendra Sah, Gopi Hamal, and Hark Sampang and suggested that the party need to work with them. The RSP was founded with the promise of providing alternatives to the traditional parties, and the party should not collaborate with these parties to continue in power, since this would undoubtedly weaken the party's position.

Shocking assertions

Despite the shocking assertions in the general secretary's report, it is unlikely that the party would implement the report's substance in its entirety. As the report was rumoured to have caused a seismic shock in the party, and some even predicted a rupture in the RSP, the UML chairman and Prime Minister Prachanda met with the RSP chair to seek his perspective on the newly arisen situation as a result of the general secretary's report because any rift in the party might put the existence of the current government in jeopardy.

Finally, the report is likely to bring some disciplinary action against the general secretary. It is also true that the RSP, following several issues, including the party chair's massive decline in popularity and the failure of its ministers and parliamentarians to undertake programmes as per the party's avowed principle, needs an immediate course correction to remain relevant to its voters and well-wishers who catapulted the party to an enviable status in present-day politics.

(Upadhyay is a former managing editor of this daily.)