KATHMANDU, June 4: Samajbadi Party –led by Upendra Yadav is planning to quit the government citing the government failed to implement the agreements reached with them, according to sources.

A source close to Yadav said that the party has been pressuring the deputy prime minister and health minister to leave the government.  “Samajbadi Party will make to decision in this regard within a few days,” he added.

Last year in May, Yadav-led FSFN had reached a two-point deal with the government. According to the deal, the FSFN will join the government while in return the government will address the issues and demands raised by the Madhes-based party during the Madhes movement in consensus by amending the constitution.

A month ago, the FSFN merged with Naya Shakti Party led by Dr Baburam Bhatarai to form Samajbadi Party– promising a collective fight in the cause of the poor and the marginalized and become an alternate political force in the country.

KATHMANDU, May 7: Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) leader Mahendra Raya Yadav has said that unification with the newly formed Samajbadi Party Nepal is the need of the people and country.

Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN) led by Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Upendra Yadav and Naya Shakti Party Nepal led by former Prime Minister Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai formally united on Monday to form Samajbadi Party, vowing to become an alternate political force in the country.

With the new party taking the agenda of constitution amendment and people’s struggle as their medium to move forward centering their politics in Terai-Madhes, RJPN seems eager to give the stalled month-long merger process another go ahead.

“We want to merge with the Samajbadi party. We did not have enough time for discussion with the FSFN. But informal negotiations are still continuing. RJPN-Samabadi merger is the need of the country and people,” said Yadav talking to Rishi Dhamala at a Nepali Radio Network program Nepali Bahas. The RJPN is currently on homework for holding its first general convention.

“The ruling party Nepal Communist Party and the main opposition party Nepali Congress are trying to force two-party system bringing the provision of five percent threshold. Therefore, unification with Samajbadi is a requisite. Our party has officially decided to merge,” he added.

At present, a party should garner three percent votes under Proportional Representation and at least one seat under the First-Past-the-Post in the elections to gain the status of the national political party.

When asked if RJPN will agree with Samajbadi party’s 11-province model for the federal structure, Yadav said that his party also demands state restructuring.

“We have demanded revision in the constitution because we disagree with the current model of province demarcation,” he said.

Also, if the unification with the Samajbadi materializes, it will put RJPN into a stronger position to bargain with the government its agenda of constitution amendment since the three-party merger will give them 34 seats in the 275-member parliament.

RJPN, in early March, withdrew its support from the government led by Nepali Communist Party Chair K P Sharma Oli, citing the prime minister failed to keep his promise of constitution amendment.

“The clause in disagreement must be amended. Consensus on the political issues we have forwarded is a must,” he said.

He also asked Prime Minister Oli to discard his arrogance of two-third majority he commands in the parliament.

“The arrogance of previous governments led to breaking of 10-yearlong Maoist insurgency. If PM Oli keeps showing his arrogance, more problems will be created. There will be no peace, good governance and stability,” he said.

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Samajbadi Party: A new power on the horizon as merger with RJPN looms

Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN) led by Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Upendra Yadav and Naya Shakti Party Nepal led by former Prime Minister Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai formally united on Monday forming a new party Samajbadi Party Nepal—vowing to become an alternate political force in the country.

Now, the newly formed party will head for culminating merger with another stronger political force of Terai-Madhes, Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN), although previous effort between RJPN and FSFN (now dissolved after merger Naya Shakti) made no progress after Yadav refused to pull out of the government as demanded by the RJPN.

While announcing the merger, both Yadav, who will act as the chair of the 25-member committee of the new party, and Bhattarai, who agreed to head the federal council, have called on the RJPN to come for unification process, promising a collective fight in the cause of the poor and the marginalized.

The unification process with the regional party RJPN–who has long demanded an amendment in the Constitution of Nepal and withdrew its support given to the government on early March citing the ruling Nepal Communist Party failed to keep its promise to amend the constitution–could make a positive headway given that the newly formed party has taken up constitutional amendment and people’s struggle as a tool to move forward in the path of progressive transformation, sustainable development and equitable prosperity.

RJPN—the party was formed after the unification between six of the seven constituents of the Unified Democratic Madhesi Front on 14 April, 2017—and Yadav (FSFN being the other constituent) continues their strong disapproval toward the Constitution of Nepal promulgated in 2015—which backtracked the Interim Constitution 2007, although the first amendment was done. The struggle against the constitution has continued for decades as Madhes Movement, which first broke out in 2007, a day after the announcement of the interim constitution which ignored the concept of federalism, the most desired political agenda of Madhesis and other marginalized communities.

Moreover, merging with Samajbadi would land a strong bargaining position with the government for the long-fought agenda of RJPN since unification would give them 34 seats in the 275-member parliament. RJPN has 17 seats, FSFN has 16 seats and Naya Shakti has one member in the parliament.

Bhattarai formed Naya Shakti on 12, July 2016 determined to establish a new political force. He had announced alliance with the for CPN-UML and his mother party CPN (Maoist Center) (UML and Maoist Center united to form Nepal Communist Party after elections) on the eve of the House of Representatives election held in 2017 and departed from the alliance two weeks later after he was not guaranteed an election ticket in his home town Gorkha. Bhattarai defeated his rival from Maoist Center Narayan Kaji Shrestha by more than 6,500 votes. Bhattarai while announcing merger with FSFN has said that Terai-Madhes would be the center of their politics.

Yadav has also called RJPN and other parties to join forces with them for a decisive socialist movement that would fight for strengthening democracy and bringing real reforms in the country.

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RJPN eager to merge with Samajbadi Party: Mahendra Raya Yadav