In the different political situation caused by the Gen-G movement, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Ravi Lamichhane and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra (Balen) Shah are working on cooperation. The two reached an agreement to stand together and move forward in a meeting that lasted from 7 pm to 1:30 am on Monday.

According to a leader who participated in the meeting, there has been a discussion about going to the election against the old political parties by taking other alternative forces along with them. According to the leader, there has also been a discussion about the option of putting Balen forward as the prime ministerial candidate from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 

Lamichhane, however, said that the discussion with Balen was only in the initial stage. ‘Has there been an agreement to make Balen the prime minister?’ When asked by media persons in Chitwan on Tuesday, Lamichhane said that the talks have not entered that stage. ‘The matter has not reached that stage yet, you write according to your taste what to give to whom,’ he said, ‘Discussions have also been held with other forces, we have also spoken with Sudhanji, we will also talk with Kulmanji.’

RSSW Vice President DP Aryal, who participated in the meeting on Monday night, said that he had a cordial dialogue with Balen on the issue of discussing with new forces and groups and including everyone as per the demands of Gen-G. He said that the meeting was cordial as President Lamichhane was released from prison and Balen was grieving for his father. ‘They had a personal and family conversation. Then, discussions were held on the current political issues in Nepal, starting from the incident of 23-24 Bhadra and the upcoming elections,’ he told Kantipur. ‘The people’s expectation is that Balen and Ravi would have gotten along, and that Naya Shakti would have gone together. There has been a dialogue on that expectation as well.’

Aryal says that the door to dialogue with Balen has opened and that it will be continued. ‘I am confident that this will yield good results,’ he said. ‘The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will also discuss with Minister Kulman Ghising and Hark Sampang of the Shram, Sanskriti Party for unity among the new political forces.’

According to Balen’s aide, Lamichhane and Balen had previously met collectively and separately. ‘This was the second meeting after Raviji was released from prison, and there was a conversation that created an atmosphere of trust,’ the source said, ‘Both have agreed to make maximum efforts to bring all alternative forces under one umbrella.’ In the meeting, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Lamichhane had said that he would adopt maximum flexibility to unite the new forces.

Former MP Shah, who participated in the meeting, informed that discussions were held on Monday night on changing the current situation of the country and finding a solution to political problems. ‘We are brothers, we are. We will chart a political journey together. We understand the situation of the country. The agenda of making alternative forces the mainstream of Nepali politics has been advanced,’ he said, ‘That meeting was an icebreaker. There was a principled agreement that both of them would go together.’

Such a long discussion had not been held between Lamichhane and Balen before. ‘Two people had not been able to sit at this level before. Mayor Saab was busy in the metropolis. Ravi Dai was in the government and later in prison for a long time,' Shah said, 'There was no opportunity to sit down as brothers, so we had a long conversation.'

This meeting between Lamichhane and Balen was not that casual. According to sources related to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Balen, informal discussions were taking place even when Lamichhane was in prison. 'Earlier, there was also a conversation with Kulman Ghising, he was ready to join the party as the president,' said a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader, 'Parallel talks were also taking place with Balenji in various modalities since then.'

Abhishek Raj Singh, a central member of Ghising's Ujjaya Nepal Party, who was in dialogue with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Balen teams, responded that new political parties and Gen-G representatives should come together. He said that Lamichhane, Ghising and Shah should work together to establish good governance by forming an alternative force according to the 'mandate' of the Gen-G movement.

‘To address the demands and issues of Gen-G, we need to come together with a majority in the elections. If we are divided, the chances of getting approved are less. For that, intensive discussions are underway to bring all three of them from Balen, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Ujjaya Nepal together,’ Singh said. ‘There is a possibility of preparing a single proportional list and contesting under a single election symbol. This is the best option to set an agenda for alternative power and good governance. This is why we are talking about it. There will be some breakthroughs in two to three days.’