KATHMANDU: Resham Lal Chaudhary, a leader of the Nagarik Unmukti Party Nepal, has said the likelihood of new political parties and groups uniting as an alternative to traditional parties appears weak.
Speaking after a meeting with Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah on Wednesday night, Chaudhary said ongoing discussions among new and alternative political forces have failed to produce meaningful results.
Chaudhary said repeated meetings among new parties and groups to explore possible cooperation in the upcoming election scheduled for March 5, 2026, have not been encouraging.
“In principle, the idea sounds right, but in practice it does not seem likely to succeed,” he said.
He added that recent dialogues among leaders of new and alternative parties have shown a declining willingness to accept each other’s leadership.
Chaudhary said he met Mayor Shah for around 10 minutes on Wednesday evening at Hotel Himalaya in Kupondole. Although both sides agreed to continue discussions and consult within their respective groups, he concluded that the new forces were not moving toward unity.
“At present, Balen is not formally associated with any political party,” Chaudhary said. “Apart from the ‘Lauro’ election symbol registered during the provincial and House of Representatives elections held in 2022, there is no other party backing him.”
He also clarified that his meeting with Shah did not include any discussion about the seven-hour-long meeting Chaudhary had with Rabi Lamichhane at Ashim Shah’s residence in Kamalpokhari on Monday night.
According to one of Shah’s close aides involved in dialogues among various groups, the major obstacle remains the unwillingness of leaders to accept one another. “There is currently no sign that Rabi will accept Balen as a leader,” the aide said, adding that leaders of Lamichhane’s party also do not appear ready to recognize Shah’s leadership.
Chaudhary said that after observing the ongoing talks among alternative forces, it appeared that figures such as Kulman Ghising, Rabi Lamichhane, Balen Shah and Harka Sampang were all aspiring to become prime minister.“All of them seem to have the same goal: to become prime minister but they are unable to say it openly,” he said. “Because of this ambition, I do not see them moving forward together. The possibility of unity among them is weak.”
For the past few days, Shah and Lamichhane have been holding discussions aimed at bringing new political forces together. On Wednesday night, Shah also held talks with several individuals, including Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal spokesperson Gyanendra Shahi, Dr. Bhagwan Koirala, actor Nischal Basnet, and Nagarik Unmukti Party patron Resham Lal Chaudhary.
The discussions focused on whether alternative forces could move forward under a single election symbol or form a broader front. However, Chaudhary argued that personal ambitions for positions have significantly reduced the chances of unity.
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