Janamat Chair CK Raut decides to quit parliamentary politics

KATHMANDU: Janamat Party Chairperson CK Raut has announced that he will step away from parliamentary politics following the party’s poor performance in the recent House of Representatives elections.

In a statement issued on his social media page on Monday, Raut said he would retire from electoral and position-based politics but would remain active in political struggle and continue to provide leadership to the party as long as needed.

The announcement comes after the Janamat Party failed to win a single seat in the House of Representatives elections held on March 5 and also lost its national party status after failing to secure the required 3% of the valid votes under the proportional representation system.

Raut said he had contested parliamentary elections twice despite personal reluctance, winning once and losing once, but remained satisfied with both decisions.

“We formed the party in 2018 after the government did not allow the activities of the Free Madhesh Alliance to engage in mainstream politics. I assumed chairmanship of the party after friends, including Narendra Prasad Chaudary, turned down requests to lead the party,” Raut said.

Ruat said he had initially planned not to contest the 2022 elections but instead help the party cross the electoral threshold as its founding chair. “However, party colleagues persuaded me to run, arguing that the party might fail to win any seats without his candidacy,” he said.

Janamat won six seats in the 2022 elections – one under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system and five under the proportional representation (PR) system.

“Before any personal ambition or attachment to positions emerges, I want to clearly state publicly that I will stay away from parliamentary or position-based politics,” Raut said. “But this does not mean I will disappear from politics.”

He said he would remain active in advancing the party’s principles and agenda and continue working for the people through political struggle.

Raut also said he was committed to preparing the Janamat Party for the upcoming local and provincial elections and vowed to remain with supporters in the struggle for rights and identity.