Although the leadership of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party is certain to be elected unanimously for the posts of president and senior leader, there is a competition for the remaining office bearers and 99 central member posts. Although there is a competition, party president Rabi Lamichhane and senior leader and Prime Minister Balendra Shah have wished for a healthy and fair one.

In the inaugural session of the general convention on Sunday, Lamichhane and Shah warned that if there is factionalism within the party and unhealthy competition is done to reach the leadership, it will be the same as the old parties. They have warned the lower-level leaders that this trend will not be acceptable. There will be three vice-presidents in the Rashtriya Swatantra Party - one open, one woman and one nominated. Rashtriya Swatantra Party leaders say that Swarnim Wagle is a strong contender for the open vice-president post.

Leaders estimate that there is a possibility that no one will file a candidacy against him, who is the third-ranked finance minister in the party. 'It seems certain that Rabi Lamichhane will be unanimously elected for the presidency, Balendra Shah for the senior leader post. So far, no one has been seen competing with Swarnim Wagle for the open vice-president post. There is a strong possibility that she will also be unanimous,' said a party leader, 'In such a situation, there is a possibility of elections for the posts of female vice president, general secretary and joint general secretary among the office bearers.'

Party President Lamichhane and senior leader Shah have already started the homework to unanimously select the office bearers. 'Efforts are being made to reach an agreement on the posts of female vice president, general secretary and joint general secretary,' said a leader participating in the discussion, 'There is an equal possibility of reaching an agreement and holding an election.'

Leaders say that if an election is held for the post of female vice president, Law Minister Sobita Gautam, Treasurer Lima Adhikari, and General Administration Minister Pratibha Rawal are potential candidates. Dr. Toshima Karki is said to be a potential candidate for one of the posts of vice president or general secretary. Preparations are underway to give the responsibility to leader Sunil Lamsal, who is handling the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure, as the nominated vice president. He is a leader who joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh along with Shah.

It is seen that there will be intense competition if an agreement cannot be reached on the open general secretary. "Outgoing general secretary Kabindra Burlakoti, Bipin Acharya, Shishir Khanal, Manish Jha, Ganesh Parajuli, Yagyamani Neupane are likely to be candidates for this post," said a leader. Dr. Karki is also being considered as a candidate for the post of general secretary if he does not nominate for the post of women vice-president. Leaders close to him have said that Khanal seems ready to step down if the leadership selection is done by consensus. Sources close to him have informed that Neupane will not claim the post of joint general secretary if he gets the post. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders say that Bhupdev Shah is almost certain to be the nominated general secretary.

It is not yet clear who will be the candidate for the open joint general secretary. Leaders have said that Hari Dhakal, Prakash Chandra Pariyar and others are among the contenders. Leader Asim Shah is also a possible candidate for the position of joint general secretary. He is also a former MP and political advisor to Prime Minister Shah. Nisha Dangi and others are possible candidates for the position of women joint general secretary.

The number of office bearers in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been increased to 19. Earlier, this number was 12. This time, after amending the statute, the office bearers include 1 president, 1 senior leader, 3 vice presidents (1 woman and 1 nominated), 2 general secretaries (1 nominated), 5 joint general secretaries (1 woman, 2 nominated), 1 spokesperson, 3 joint spokespersons (1 woman), 1 treasurer, 2 joint treasurers (1 woman).

President Lamichhane and senior leader and Prime Minister Shah have said that the party should be led as one. For that, both have urged the leaders to work together and not to form any factions to obtain positions. The president recalled the Jaleshwor meeting held in 2080 Mangsir from the inauguration ceremony and said that if the leaders themselves engage in factionalism, the party would suffer. ‘I would like to remind you of something I wrote in my political report during the Jaleshwor meeting – if the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) falls, it will fall on its own feet, no one else has the strength to fall,’ Lamichhane urged, ‘Today is the time to make it more meaningful.’

Senior leader Shah urged not to engage in the work of forming factions and sub-faction. ‘Our culture had already deteriorated in the party’s general convention, first forming factions, forming sub-faction. One thing, you may be the general convention representatives, there may be those who sat down saying that they would become central members. What I want to say clearly to you who sat down saying that they would become office bearers is that to become a good leader, to become a good politician, you must win the trust and love of the people, not the love of any group. That is why you should not rush into forming a group,’ Shah said, ‘Do not plant such seeds now, or that seed will grow into a tree tomorrow and have to be uprooted. That is why we should not plant such seeds, grow trees. We should learn from the old ones.’

President Lamichhane, who spoke after Shah, also repeated this example, ‘When the hearts of many cannot be won, then the hearts of a few are won to move forward in politics. But we should not sow the seeds of that trend. We have just seen what happens if that seed grows, grows, blooms, and bears fruit. Therefore, if we plant that seed by forming factions and sub-factions, the fruit it will bear tomorrow will be poisonous fruit and, as the senior leader of the party said, if that fruit bears fruit, we will have to cut that tree,’ he said. Lamichhane urged the party to move forward by looking at the past political parties without joining any political faction or sub-faction.