Lingden, Rana involved in heated exchange in Pokhara

POKHARA: Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairperson Rajendra Prasad Lingden and General Secretary Dhawal Shamsher Rana were involved in a heated exchange on Monday as internal disputes within the party continue to escalate.

Addressing the general convention of the party’s Pokhara Municipal Committee in Pokhara, Lingden urged anyone dissatisfied with the leadership to wait until the party’s general convention. He insisted that he had made no mistakes or weaknesses that would hold the party back. “There may be shortcomings, but they can be corrected going forward. All matters must be discussed within the party committee,” Lingden said. “Either the proposal brought by the party chair must be accepted, or there will be a vote. If someone is still unhappy, the general convention is approaching.”

Earlier, during his address, General Secretary Rana had said the party would fail to win even a single seat in the next election due to the weakness of the party leadership.

“Perhaps we did not win as many seats as we predicted earlier. Perhaps our strategy had shortcomings. But we will correct them and face the next election again,” Lingden said. “What part of our political predictions has ever gone wrong? Who believed us when we said the day would come when leaders would flee in helicopters? Yet it happened.”

Lingden stressed the need for royalist, nationalist forces and other parties to reach a broad political consensus ahead of the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5. “The monarchy we are rooting for is not just for the RPP; it is for the greater good of the entire country,” he said. “We must adapt to the times.”

Rana said the party needs to support Hindu-state and pro-monarchy forces, including those aligned with Durga Prasai. Accusing the leadership of incompetence, he warned that the party would face defeat if it went into elections under the current circumstances.

Addressing the convention, party leaders warned that ignoring Hindu, royalist, and nationalist forces would push the country back into instability.

The convention will elect a new leadership of the municipal committee for the new term.