KATHMANDU: The Ujyalo Nepal Party, led by Kulman Ghising, has suffered a setback as three of its central leaders have resigned from the party, even giving up their ordinary membership, the leaders announced on Wednesday.
The leaders who left include identity politics activist Dakendra Singh Thegim, Gyan Bahadur Gurung, and Amar Ijam. Thegim is also listed as the party’s proportional representation candidate.
In a statement, the trio cited weak internal democracy, lack of clarity in party ideology, methods, and procedures, and the absence of a written agenda on identity-related issues as reasons for their departure. They said they will now work independently to strengthen the Joint Identity Front.
Before the formation of Ujyalo Nepal Party, Thegim served as coordinator of the Province 1 Renaming Joint Struggle Committee. Meanwhile, Gyan Bahadur and Amar were active in the Citizens Liberation Party, advocating for the creation of “Limbuwan” across nine districts of eastern Arun.
Thegim had been listed as the third candidate under the indigenous Janajati cluster for proportional representation in Ujyalo Nepal Party. Upon leaving, he criticized the party for failing to take a clear stance on identity, secularism, and local issues such as the “No Koshi” and “No Cable Car” campaigns, and said he would support candidates who raise these issues in the upcoming elections.
Thegim had previously contested as an independent candidate in Ilam-2 by-elections in 2024, backed by Harka Sampang, president of the Shram Sanskriti Party. He finished third, losing to Suhang Nembang of CPN-UML.
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