The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has warned of action if it supports Nepali Congress candidate Chunna Prasad Sharma Poudel in Rupandehi-2 in the upcoming House of Representatives elections on Thursday. The RPP does not have a direct candidate in Rupandehi-2. Karbika Thapa, who had filed her candidacy in the direct election, had her candidacy rejected after it was learned that she had not given up her foreign citizenship for three months.

RPP regional committee president Ram Bahadur Thapa issued a statement on Sunday saying that it had decided to support Nepali Congress candidate Chunna Prasad Poudel, a party with similar ideas to keep the votes unified in the absence of its candidate. District president Sagar Pratap Rana had refuted the decision of the president of Constituency No. 2 on Sunday itself. However, provincial committee president Pradeep Uday supported her.

On Monday, RPP Central Committee Spokesperson and Publicity Department Chief Mohan Kumar Shrestha issued a statement stating that the decision made by the regional committee was not valid and that it was decided to suspend the regional president Ram Bahadur Thapa, who issued the statement without consultation and discussion. ‘There is no truth in the news that RPP will support Nepali Congress in Rupandehi Constituency No. 2,’ Shrestha said in a statement. ‘RPP has not adopted a policy of coordinating with or supporting anyone in the upcoming House of Representatives elections.’ The statement also states that engaging in such activities against the party’s policy will be a matter of discipline. RPP is seeking votes only from the proportional representation side as there is no direct candidate in Rupandehi-2.