Saturday, February 12, 2022

Twitter: February 12



Two major Madhes-based parties in crisis Disputes deepen in Upendra Yadav’s Janata Samajbadi Party and Mahantha Thakur’s Loktantrik Samajbadi Party over key appointments........ The ruling Janta Samajbadi Party, led by Upendra Yadav, and Mahantha Thakur’s Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, both with their bases in the Madhes region, are internally fractured....... infighting inside both the parties is not over ideology or the larger cause of the Madhesi people but it is largely for posts and positions and management of their leaders........ Inside the Yadav-led Janata Samajbadi Party, a triangular fight between three senior leaders—Chairman Yadav, senior leader Baburam Bhattarai and Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Mahendra Raya Yadav, has escalated inside the party ........ Party leaders told the Post that Bhattarai is not happy with Upendra after he unilaterally recommended two candidates for the National Assembly elections without consulting the party. Similarly relations between Chairman Yadav and Minister Yadav are not going well since the cabinet formation and when Yadav was given the Agriculture Ministry. .......... Yadav was looking for the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation and also wanted to lead the party’s team in the government but both of his demands were not addressed and instead Renu Yadav was appointed Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation, which is considered as a resourceful ministry. ........ Besides sending ministers to the Cabinet, as per the power-sharing deal the party could make two political appointments–a National Planning Commission member and a province chief. Chairman Yadav and Bhattarai had agreed to fill the two positions through consensus, a JSP leader said. Parshuram Khapung, who was close to Bhattarai was made chief of Province 1 and Uma Shankar Shah, who was close to Chairman Yadav, was appointed member of the National Planning Commission. ........... both Yadav and Bhattarai have pitched different names for the positions. Bhattarai has recommended former ambassador Pradyumna Bikram Shah and Nawaraj Subedi for ambassadorial appointment while Yadav is in favour of appointing Thapa and Ram Swartha Raya Yadav. Similarly, two senior party leaders Ashok Rai and Minister for General Administration Rajendra Shrestha have recommended Pushpa Raj Rajkarnikar for ambassador. ........ “The party has not held meetings for a long time, so we don’t know the real issues of discord between the leaders,” said Pradip Yadav, a lawmaker from the party........ Chairman Yadav has reportedly warned Minister Yadav not to make major administrative decisions at the Ministry of Agriculture without consulting him. ...... Apart from protesting against Thakur’s unilateral decision to appoint a provincial party chief, secretary and some district presidents without holding discussion in the party, recently a group of leaders have decided to revive the old Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party....... Those protesting at the central office are from Dhanusha and Mahottari districts, where Mahato and Anil Jha, also a senior leader, are said to have a strong hold........... The agitators have told the leaders to either review the decisions and ensure internal democracy in the party or face continued protests and agitation. ....... Leaders said in most cases, Tarai party leaders take decisions in undemocratic ways and fail to observe internal democracy. ......... “Whether they were the Tarai-Madhes Loktantrik Party or the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal, or the current Janata Samajbadi Party, a small group of leaders hold sway and run the party like a private firm. So we decided to revive the old party,” argued Lal...... The chairman of the new Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party is Ravi Shankar Kumar Karna. Similarly, two new Sadbhawana parties with different suffixes have also been registered at the Election Commission........ “Party leaders have stopped visiting the electorate, they have stopped talking about political and social transformation” ........ if a new alliance is formed for reasons like the Millennium Challenge Corporation, some are willing to join the Nepali Congress-led government. .