KATHMANDU: The Election Commission (EC) has summoned all members of the Executive Committee of the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) for identification in order to settle the long-running dispute in the party.

A five-member bench comprising Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya and other commissioners Thursday decided to ask all members of JSP’s Executive Committee to appear before the EC at 11 am on July 26 with papers that were produced during the merger between the Rastriya Janata Party (RJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) to become the JSP for identification. The EC would determine legitimacy after identification of Executive Committee members and their documents.

Following disputes between factions led by Co-chairs Upendra Yadav and Mahantha Thakur, Yadav faction moved the EC claiming authenticity. The EC tried to mediate between the two warring faction but to no avail.

After that, the EC resorted to determine legitimacy of the factions through legal means. The JSP has registered a 51-member Executive Committee with the Election Commission as the party’s central committee. Yadav faction claimed that it commanded a majority with 30 members.