KATHMANDU, Feb 27: Fourteen members of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), including its founding regional coordinator in Kathmandu-5, have submitted a collective resignation, dealing a blow to the party ahead of elections.
The resignations come after former House of Representatives candidate Pranay Rana stepped down from the party, triggering what observers describe as a shake-up within RSP’s Kathmandu-5 unit.
Citing growing irregularities instead of reforms, the group announced their joint resignation on Friday. In their resignation letter, they accused the party leadership of financial misconduct under the pretext of selecting candidates for the House of Representatives.
RSP quits government, ministers resign en masse
They also stated that the party had undermined their aspiration to build the country under democratic values and good governance. Expressing dissatisfaction with local-level party activities, they said they were resigning with immediate effect.
Those resigning include founding regional coordinator Madhusudhan Dhwaj Khadka; Budhanilkantha Municipality Ward-3 representative Ram Shrestha and Jaya Shrestha; Ward-4 members Samip Ghale and Kabi Thapa Magar.
Similarly, ward officials Pratibha Sedhai (Ward-7), Kiran Thapa (Ward-7), Tokha RSP member Chiranjivi Adhikari, audit committee members Srijana Basnet and Shobha Subedi, and members Prabhat Maharjan (Ward-4), Rajesh Thapa, and Anjana Bogati have also resigned.
The resigning members are considered close to former RSP candidate Pranay Rana, who recently joined the Nepali Congress. The development is expected to impact the RSP’s position in the constituency as elections approach.
