The unity between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah has taken the upcoming elections to an interesting turn. With the prime ministerial candidate already decided, voters are presented with a clear choice. Pressure has also increased on other parties and groups with similar agendas to form a similar unity or alliance.

The talks, which took place from 9 pm to 4 am on Saturday, have reached a 7-point agreement. The agreement has been signed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Ravi Lamichhane and leader Balendra. 

The fourth point of the agreement reached between the two leaders at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Asim Shah's office in Kamalpokhari, states that Lamichhane will be the president of the RSS and Balendra will be the prime minister's candidate. The party's name, election symbol, and flag will not change after the unification. There is an understanding that Balendra's party will have 40 to 50 percent presence in the candidates for the RSS Central Committee and the upcoming House of Representatives elections. 

There is an understanding that Balendra's party leaders will also be given a place in the party office-bearers immediately after the unification. A leader informed that preparations are underway to make Bhupdev Shah, who is in the negotiation team on behalf of Balendra, the joint general secretary of the RSS. However, Balendra's friend Kumar Ben, who led the negotiation team, has not shown any desire to join the party committee immediately. The RSVP statute provides for one president, three vice presidents (one woman), one treasurer, one co-treasurer, one spokesperson, and two co-spokespersons. 

The post of joint general secretary is vacant after Kavindra Burlakoti became the general secretary of the RSVP. Shah, who is also Balendra's personal secretary, is being brought in for the post. Since the management of office bearers will be complicated, preparations are being made to have Balendra's side represent the party in the posts that remain to be filled as per the statute, said a RSVP leader. 'While uniting, we did not irritate our friends who are already in the party. We are giving them a respectful presence so that our friends from here do not suffer much,' he said. 

According to the leaders, Balendra will remain in the second priority along with the central member. Initially, it was proposed to make him the second priority leader along with the co-chairman. ‘Balen has said that I will remain only a central member, that is his goodwill,’ said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Shishir Khanal, who participated in the talks. ‘The party should give such a leader a respected position, he will remain in second place.’

As per the understanding between the two parties, the Balendra faction has started finalizing the names of 44 people (40 percent) for the closed list of proportional candidates. ‘That also gives an indication of how representation is being done,’ said a leader from the Balendra faction. ‘Ravi and Balendra have been asked to sit down and finalize the list prepared by both sides.’ The leader said that since ‘cluster’ and serial number have meaning in the proportional side, the list will be finalized with the agreement of the two top leaders. For proportional elections, a party should submit a closed list of a maximum of 110 people.

Balendra's personal secretary Bhupdev Shah informed that preparations are underway to include in the closed list those who can represent the issues of good governance and development that are prevalent in society and put forward by the Gen-G movement in the parliament. 

The agreement does not mention the percentage of Balendra's party's share in the candidates for the central committee and the House of Representatives elections. "It was said that writing the percentage in the agreement point does not send a good message," said a leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).  The RSSWAP party will also participate in the RSSWAP secretariat and central members. An aide of Balendra informed that discussions are underway on who will be the central members and secretariat members. 

The RSSWAP statute envisages a 129-member central committee, in which 99 central members will be elected, with 5 mandatory and inclusive members from each province. There is a provision for the president to nominate 22 members. The statute also provides for the president to form a party secretariat of up to 25 people by nominating elected office bearers, treasurer, spokesperson and members from the central committee, including himself. 

According to a leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), preparations are underway to bring Raksha Bam, coordinator of the Nepal Gen-G Front, to the committee so that Gen-G is also represented. ‘This will send a message that the Gen-G movement has been addressed by the agreement between the two leaders,’ he said. The agreement between Ravi and Balendra states that appropriate adjustments will be made to young activists and experienced experts to further broaden the party’s organizational structure after the grand unity. The agreement also states that competence, inclusiveness and public image will be taken as the basis for assigning responsibilities. 

Former Education Minister Shishir Khanal, who led the RSSS negotiation team, said that all issues will be clarified after the 7-point agreement is approved by the central committee meeting and moved forward. ‘Now, there is the final pressure to select proportional candidates, the only thing left to do is to approve the agreement after that work is completed or before that,’ he said.

According to Bhupdev Shah, who participated in the talks on behalf of Balendra, discussions have begun on various 'modalities' from office-bearer management to candidacy. 'Ravi and Balen have said that the main thing is not the position and number, but emotional and ideological unity,' he told Kantipur. 'They say that the issue of numbers is secondary since an environment of trust has been created in each other so that no one is uncomfortable with the model of coexistence and equality. That made it easier for us to work on the draft to conclude the talks.' 

According to the leaders, before preparing the outline of the agreement, preparations were made to reach an agreement with Kulman Ghising, the patron of the Ujjaya Nepal Party. 'Kumar Ben called him several times but he did not pick up,' said a leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 'After sitting all night, he moved towards an agreement saying that he would not wait any longer and would talk differently again.'

The outline of the agreement was prepared after Kulman could not be contacted. While the discussions with RSP President Ravi were moving in a positive direction, Balendra met Kulman at 8 am and 7 pm on Saturday. In the morning meeting, Balendra informed him about the proposal from the RSP. Then, he also proposed to him to join them in the unification. But Kulman expressed dissatisfaction with it. 

The central committee meeting of the Ujjaya Nepal Party, of which Kulman is the patron, had decided in the afternoon to reject the proposal to have an alternative force in one place with Ravi as the president and Balendra as the prime ministerial candidate. After this decision, Balendra reached Baluwatar to discuss with Kulman in the evening.

‘They had one-on-one talks yesterday (Saturday) from 7 pm, but it is not known what happened,’ said Abhishek Raj Singh, a central member of the Ujjaya Nepal Party who is in talks with the RSP and Balendra. According to leaders close to him, Kulman sought a respectable presence in the unified party. In a meeting with Balendra from 7 pm on Saturday, Kulman had also said that he would not participate in the unification without his respectful presence. 

The RSP leaders, who had repeatedly discussed bringing Kulman into the party when RSP President Lamichhane was in prison, wanted to reach an agreement only with Balendra this time. But the Balendra faction had proposed a 50 percent share, saying that Kulman and the group of Gen-G should also be included at once. “We had already talked to Kulman. Something different may happen with him again,” said a RSP leader.

After the RSP merged with the Bibeksheel Sajha Party, Balendra met Kulman on 14 Mangsir. According to a leader close to Kulman, during that meeting, Balendra had assured him of support by becoming a member of the Ujjaj Nepal Party. After that, Kulman posted a picture of the two on social media as part of the agreement and wrote, “We are together in the campaign to build the country.” When Balendra moved to reach a separate agreement with the RSP, Kulman became dissatisfied.

Finally, Kulman's side proposed to move forward by forming a three-member presidium. After Balendra said he would meet, Kulman canceled his program to go to Pokhara and sat for talks on Saturday evening. After not receiving a satisfactory message from Balendra, he left Baluwatar. After that, Balendra reached the office of RSVP leader Asim Shah in Kamalpokhari at 9 pm. The agreement was reached during the discussion between Ravi and Balendra there and signed at 4:15 am. 

Sumana Shrestha, who is doing her homework that an alternative force should be in one place even after leaving the RSVP, said that Kulman Ghising should also be included in the unity process of Balendra and the RSVP, and said that the responsibility lies with Balendra and the RSVP. 'I am very happy with this unity, now this force should move forward in a way that addresses the dissatisfaction among the people and provides a solution to the country.' 

Kulman, who reached Pokhara on Sunday morning, said that 'respect and self-respect should be maintained in the process of unity or cooperation.' He said, ‘The Ujjalo Nepal Party is always ready to cooperate with everyone without losing its respect, maintaining a respectful and self-respecting presence. We will move forward only through cooperation. Many things are happening in this direction.’

Ravi and Balendra held another dialogue with Kulman Ghising on Sunday evening. The leaders said that the dialogue held at the Metropolitan City office could not reach a conclusion. ‘The leaders have stood up after the meeting point was not reached immediately,’ said a leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party, ‘It has been decided to continue the dialogue.’

When the agreement was reached between Ravi and Balendra, Vice Presidents DP Aryal and Swarnim Wagle from the RSP, leader Khanal, who is also the former education minister who was assigned responsibility for the dialogue, and former MP Asim were present. From Balendra, his friend Kumar Ben, personal secretary Bhupdev Shah were present. Sudip Dhakal, KP Khanal, artist Nischal Basnet and others were present. 

The agreement between Ravi and Balendra will address the demands raised during the Gen-G movement and the results will be visible, said Gen-G representative KP Khanal. He told Kantipur, “I think that by making Balen the prime ministerial candidate and Ravi Lamichhane the president, it will bring energy to revive not only the party but also the country’s system.” 

The agreement between Ravi and Balendra also includes the issue of the Gen-G movement. The agreement commits to appropriately address the demands of the injured and martyred families, adopting the movement launched by the youth against corruption and misrule. The agreement also mentions the honest implementation of the roadmap to make Nepal a respectable middle-income nation on the foundation of economic and social upliftment and civilized politics within the next 10 years. 

Young generation analyst Naveen Tiwari says that this collaboration is challenging because both Ravi and Balendra are very ambitious leaders. ‘This is a strategic collaboration, and since both have their own characteristics and styles, collaboration may not be easy,’ he says. ‘Both understand that this is an option to address the frustration among the common people, but whether some unwritten agreements will be implemented in the background of the implementation of some written agreements in the past may lead to disputes tomorrow. This collaboration will be beneficial for everyone in the long run.’

Balendra is preparing to resign from the post of mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City after deciding to enter national politics from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Balendra’s personal secretary Bhupdev Shah says that the issue is only technical. ‘There are some work and technical issues in the metropolis, and it will take a few weeks to resolve those issues,’ he says. 

According to an aide of Balendra, he had discussed three options in the past regarding contesting the parliamentary elections. One option is any constituency in Kathmandu, since his house is in Sinamangal, he can contest from Kathmandu 2. The second option is constituency number 3 in Mahottari, where he is from. There have been discussions about launching a campaign from there saying, 'Let's make a representative of Madhesh the Prime Minister.' His friends say that Balendra last time discussed the option of contesting the election in Jhapa Constituency No. 5, where UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli is emerging. 'But I don't think he will take that risk while moving forward as a candidate for Prime Minister,' said a friend of Balendra, 'In that case, Mahottari and Kathmandu are the best options.'

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'We are building a strong force to lead the country'

Bhupdev Shah, a member of Balendra's negotiating team

How excited are you about the agreement reached between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Ravi Lamichhane and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah?

For a long time, the institutions that built this country were in ruins. This unity was necessary to get the country out of that. That is why we are very excited. Now we are building a strong force to lead the country. This is an effort to address the hopes, expectations and needs of the people.'

But, there was a lot of tension before this agreement, why did it take so long to reach a consensus? 

It was delayed because there was no agreement on some fundamental issues. But while focusing on the main objective, we reached the conclusion of the talks. That is the Gen-G movement, due to which the country took a new turn. For the issue of good governance and development, it was said that new, independent and alternative parties should come together and address the agenda raised by the Gen-G 'movement'. We are happy to be able to move forward accordingly. 

It has been said that Ravi will be made the president and Balendra the prime minister's candidate, there was no question of any other distribution, right? 

From office bearer management to how to manage the candidacy. We tried to 'work out' this through two/three 'modalities'. But after entering into the priorities, office bearers, and numbers, both Ravi and Balendra said that the positions and numbers are not big. They said that emotional unity and ideological unity are the main things. That has been done. Now, it was a matter of moving forward in a way that no one would be inconvenienced by the model of coexistence and equality in mutual understanding. After an atmosphere of trust was created between each other, the score was completely secondary. They made us, the negotiation committee, realize that and it became easy to work on the drafts to conclude the negotiations.