KATHMANDU: In a bid to emerge as an alternative and strong political force, Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai-led Naya Shakti Party and Upendra Yadav-led Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum (SSF) have unified to form Samajbadi Party Nepal (SPN).
The new party, having a non-communist ideology, will have two party chairmen, Dr Bhattarai and Yadav with 25-member office bearers – 16 from the SSF and nine from Naya Shakti party.
While Dr Bhattarai will lead the party’s ‘federal council’ with a strong 1,000 members, Yadav will lead the central committee of 380 members, which means that Dr Bhattarai will maintain the senior position in the party hierarchy.
After separating from the then Unified CPN-Maoist party, Dr Bhattarai, who was once considered as the ‘brain’ of the then underground outfit, formed the Naya Shakti Party in 2016 as an alternative political force, which unfortunately, did not go well due to internal feud and ego clash.
Dr Bhattarai represents the Naya Shakti Party in the federal parliament from Gorkha.
Meanwhile, Yadav’s party SSF is currently the fourth largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR) with 16 seats. Yadav, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health in the KP Oli-led government, came to limelight after the Madhes movement in 2007 heading the then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Madhesi People’s Rights Forum), which emerged as one of the strongest political forces in the Madhes.
The SSF, portrayed and widely seen as a regional party, unified with Dr Bhattarai’s party to give the party a national form. Yadav formed the SSF in June 2015 by encompassing leaders representing the Janajati community.
Whatever their background, both the leaders have been raising their voices what they say ‘discriminatory’ constitution.
Another prominent leader in the newly formed party is Ashok Rai, who was once an influential leader of the then CPN-UML party. He left the then UML citing displeasure.
After hectic and extensive talks for the past few days, the two parties announced their unification vowing to institutionalize the federal republic aimed at ending all forms of inequality, social and political discrimination, and exploitation prevalent in the country.
The leaders of the newly formed party said they would continue to unite with other like-minded political parties.
“The party will emerge as a strong political party after the Nepal Communist Party and Nepali Congress,” a statement issued on the occasion said.
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