KATHMANDU: An internal conflict within the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) has escalated to the point where Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha now faces potential disciplinary action from her own party.
The dispute, which has been intensifying in recent weeks, took a dramatic turn after party patron Resham Chaudhary called for a Central Committee meeting scheduled for Sunday, allegedly to initiate proceedings against Shrestha.
In a strategic counter-move ahead of the meeting, Shrestha invoked the party statute and appointed senior leader Shiva Bastola as acting chair, citing health concerns.
“Due to my deteriorating health, I am unable to actively lead the party,” she wrote in an official letter. “In accordance with Article 20, Clause 9 of the NUP Statute 2078, I hereby designate senior leader Shiva Bastola to serve as acting chair in my absence.”
Party insiders claim this was a deliberate effort to dodge disciplinary action. “There was a high likelihood that the central committee meeting would take action against her,” a party leader told [Publication]. “By appointing someone else as acting chair, she’s trying to escape the fallout.”
Earlier, a majority of Central Committee members had issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Shrestha demanding that she convene a meeting and address recent allegations — particularly one related to a controversial land deal in Pokhara. Failure to do so, they warned, would result in her removal by majority decision.
Chaudhary himself had taken to social media on July 24, posting a 15-minute video accusing Shrestha of negotiating bribes with middlemen in connection to the transfer of land ownership at a lychee orchard in Pokhara. He demanded a satisfactory explanation at the party’s official meeting — a call Shrestha has seemingly avoided.
Instead of facing the meeting, Shrestha stated she would rest until her health improves, and her letter highlighted that the acting leadership would continue “until further arrangements are made.”
Sources close to Chaudhary say he is preparing to appoint a new leader to replace Shrestha altogether. Two names being considered, according to insiders, are former MP Ganga Chaudhary and Chaudhary’s own father, Kulbir Chaudhary.
Resham, who is both patron of the party and Shrestha’s husband, stated: “You cannot simply escape responsibility by saying the meeting wasn’t called by you. Once you become party chair, every member is your family — treating them with hostility is wrong.”
He further argued that attempting to evade the meeting renders Shrestha’s actions illegitimate, and accused her of obstructing party accountability.
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