Former UML lawmaker Basu Dev Ghimire quits party

BUTWAL: Former CPN-UML lawmaker and former mayor of Tilottama Municipality, Basu Dev Ghimire, has quit the party.

In a social media post on Monday evening, Ghimire wrote he decided to quit the party after concluding that the top leadership of the traditional political parties has failed to address the will and aspirations of the general public.

“At present, the people want good governance, development, and prosperity, along with leadership transfer, generational change, and transformation. Addressing the country’s needs, the pace of history, and the expectations of citizens is the key responsibility of this time. Unwavering commitment to the nation, good governance, development, and prosperity are essential conditions of politics,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “As I see no situation in which the principal leadership of the old political parties can address the will and aspirations of the general public, I hereby announce that from today I am dissociating myself from the responsibilities of the party I have been involved with.”

Ghimire had suffered defeat in the election for the Central Committee Member in the 11th General Convention of the UML held in Kathmandu on December 13-16.

While Ghimire has said nothing about his political future yet, sources say he is preparing to join the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).

Ghimire has lately been close to Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah. During his tenure as Mayor of Tilottama, Shah had regarded Ghimire as his role model. He had remained in regular contact with Shah even after he was elected to the House of Representatives from Rupandehi-5 as a UML candidate.

Earlier, UML’s Rupandehi District Committee Secretary and former mayor of Sainamaina Municipality, Chitra KC, had also joined the RSP.