Who Were Elected as Office Bearers at the First General Convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party?
Photo source, Nepal Photo Library
The first general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party has concluded with the election of new office bearers.
According to Bhuvan KC, head of the party’s Election Commission, Sobita Gautam has been elected as the Vice Chairperson (female) in Friday’s voting, while Bipin Acharya secured the position of General Secretary.
Ravi Lamichhane has been elected unopposed as the party’s Chairperson, and Swarnim Wagle as the Open Vice Chairperson.
Photo source, Nepal Photo Library
Vice Chairperson Gautam defeated her rival Tosima Karki. Similarly, Acharya outpaced Manish Jha, Sagar Dhakal, and Ganesh Karki for the General Secretary post.
Hari Dhakal and Asim Shah won the posts of Joint General Secretaries (Open category). A total of 11 candidates vied for this position, including Ramesh Prasain, Yagyamani Nyaupane, Sulabh Kharel, Asim Shah, Ashok Kumar Chaudhary, Milan Limbu, Pukar Bam, Rajiv Khatri, Vijay Jairu, Hari Dhakal, and Himesh Pant.
Nisha Dangi was elected as the Joint General Secretary (female category), competing against Rima Bishwakarma, Juli Yadav, Jamuna Sharma ‘Vidushi’, and Kaminikumar Chaudhary.
According to the party’s Election Commission, the newly elected office bearers will take their oaths this evening.
Notable Presence of Women in the Central Committee
Photo source, RSS
In the first phase of elections held on Wednesday, 99 central members were elected, with almost 50 percent of them women.
Of the 99 elected central members from Wednesday night’s results, 49 are women.
The remaining 50 members will be nominated by Chairperson Ravi Lamichhane, which is expected to increase female representation in the central committee further.
The number of office bearers in Rastriya Swatantra Party will be 19.
Internal Dissent Within the Party?
Photo source, ISHWOR JOSHI/BBC
Previously, several candidates who had filed for the General Secretary post, including Kabindra Burlakoti, Ganesh Parajuli, Ranju Darshana, Pramod Nyaupane, Shishir Khanal, Rajunath Pandey, and Jagdish Kharel, withdrew their candidacies.
Although this indicated support for Bipin Acharya for the General Secretary role, candidate Ganesh Karki publicly criticized this move on social media.
“During the convention opening, the Chairperson said that members of Rastriya Swatantra Party must not seek votes for others. However, candidacies were withdrawn to support someone else even before his statement could be settled, which mocks his words,” Karki wrote.
“This reflects the alliance and panel we have long criticized. This was a mistake, and we should avoid such actions.”
He added that the party’s longevity depends on its rules, policies, and character, and it is the leadership’s responsibility to strengthen these.
Similarly, Manish Jha, another General Secretary candidate, mentioned that factional political practices occurred at the convention venue, contrary to the leader’s public statements.
“Didn’t Ravi Bhai instruct us here not to engage in factional politics? If someone is doing so under his shadow, the Chairperson might be unaware, but this tarnishes his reputation,” he told journalists.
On Thursday night, he said he was asked to ‘come together’, but he told party Chairperson Ravi Lamichhane and Vice Chairperson Swarnim Wagle that “I will not always be the only one to make sacrifices.”
“Consensus is not always about sacrifice; sometimes it is about achievement. I questioned why political consensus has to be only about sacrifice,” he added.
Low Voter Turnout at the Election
Initially scheduled for three days starting last Sunday, the convention extended to six days, with office bearers elected on the sixth day.
Ahead of the election for central members on Thursday, a large number of convention delegates had already left to return to their regions when the voting took place.
As a result, less than half of the delegates participated in Friday’s voting.
How Was the Overall Convention?
Political analyst Sucheta Pyakurel notes that since the party was born out of a “demand of the times” rather than a specific ideology or philosophy, expectations from the convention were limited. Still, from the outside, the convention did not seem very different from similar events of older political parties.
“The leadership promised transparency, but that did not seem to be the case. It felt like strategies were being formed behind closed doors,” she said.
Pyakurel also mentioned that there is much ambiguity regarding reports adopted by the convention related to social democracy and demands to abolish the Provincial Assembly.