KATHMANDU: Janamat Party emerged in Madhesh Province by relentlessly targeting the government led by Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal-led government. Party Chairperson CK Raut and his party members were particularly critical of JSP Nepal leaders, portraying them as the primary adversary in Madhesh politics. Consequently, these two parties have come to be recognized as political “rivals” in the region.
While JSP Nepal contested the election in 2017, Janamat’s first electoral test came in the 2022 polls. Despite being new to electoral politics, Janamat delivered a significant blow to the established JSP Nepal, Raut defeating JSP Nepal Chair Upendra Yadav in Saptari to win a seat in the House of Representatives.
This defeat intensified political competition between the two parties in Madhesh. Although both supported KP Sharma Oli’s UML-led government at the federal level, JSP Nepal positioned itself as an opposition force to the Janamat-led government in Madhesh. Currently, Janamat Party is leading the province government, with Satish Kumar Singh serving as Chief Minister. However, the government has faced widespread criticism for failing to differentiate itself from previous administrations.
Poor Performance in Local Body By-elections
The recent local body by-election results have shown that the criticisms of its activities are not unfounded. Despite leading the Madhesh Province government, the party performed poorly in the by-elections held across four districts of the province.
By-elections were held in Saptari’s Dakneshwori Municipality Wards 1 and 4, Dhanusha’s Dhanushadham Municipality-1, Mahottari’s Ramgopalpur Ward 2, and Rautahat’s Garuda Municipality Ward 8, Rajpur Municipality-6, and Ishnath Municipality-7. Janamat’s candidates failed to win and, in many cases, lagged far behind their competitors.
In five wards, Janamat candidates failed to secure their deposits. In Dhanushadham-1, Janamat candidate Kuseshwar Mandal secured only 25 votes, a slight increase from the nine votes that the party got in the 2022 elections. In Garuda-8, Surendra Raut received just eight votes, while Shesh Zamirul Haq finished fourth with 135 votes in Ishnath-7.
The party’s performance was weak even in Saptari – the home district of Chairperson Raut. In Dakneshwori-4, JSP Nepal candidate Devendra Prasad Yadav won with 372 votes, while Janamat’s Uday Narayan Pandit trailed in third place with 231 votes. In Dakneshwori-1, JSP’s Dhirendra Kumar Sah won with 652 votes, while Janamat’s Shailendra Kumar Sah (Teli) finished fifth with 74 votes. The party did not field a candidate in Mahottari’s Ramgopalpur-1.
Leadership under Scrutiny
Janamat’s Satish Kumar Singh is the Chief Minister of Madhesh Province. Likewise, the party has ministers in the province cabinet and a deputy speaker. However, despite controlling key ministries in the province government, the party has struggled to deliver tangible results.
Analysts say the public is losing faith in the party. Political analyst Roshan Janakpuri observed that while the Janamat Party initially gained traction by championing grassroots issues and leading movements like the farmers’ protests, it has failed to sustain this momentum. “There was a political zeal in the party’s early days, but it hasn’t been able to maintain that focus,” Janakpuri said. He attributed the party’s electoral setbacks to its organizational weaknesses and inability to follow through on its promises.
Janamat’s central spokesperson, Sharat Singh Yadav, however, viewed the by-elections as a learning experience. He acknowledged the party’s technical losses but claimed they had made political gains. “We had nothing to lose in these elections. While failing to win is a setback, we have seen an increase in our overall vote count, even in areas where we lack a traditional base,” he stated.
Yadav also defended the party’s performance, pointing out that JSP Nepal, with eight years of governance experience in Madhesh, won only two seats in the by-elections. He argued that Janamat’s focus remains on building its organizational strength and that it was premature to judge the party solely on electoral results.
