Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden has said that his party has not aligned with any party this time and will not support candidates from any other party.

In particular, in Jhapa-5, when asked by Kantipur whether CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli would be supported, he made it clear that the RPP would not support anyone in this area this time.  ‘If we are going to support each other, we will help each other by vacating seats,’ Lingden said, ‘There is no question of helping in any other way.’ He also revealed that his party has fielded a qualified candidate in this area and that preparations for it have been underway for three years. ‘We have fielded a qualified candidate, Lakshmi Sangraula, from among those we have in Jhapa-5,’ Lingden said, ‘He had been preparing for these three years and we had been preparing him. He has stood up. It is a place where we have a good presence.’

In the 2074 and 2079 House of Representatives elections, the UML and the RPP had coordinated in some areas including Jhapa. RPP supported Oli in Jhapa-5, while UML supported Lingden in Jhapa-3. Both of them were winning at that time. 

This time, former Kathmandu mayor and senior leader of the National Independent Party Balendra Shah has become a candidate in Jhapa-5. When it was being analyzed that this would add a challenge to Oli, he met Ram Thapa, who is the RPP mayor in his constituency, Dakkam.

Lingden, on the other hand, claimed that meeting someone in person does not mean that the party has supported him. ‘It does not mean that you do not speak, do not talk, do not shake hands when you meet them,’ he said, ‘It does not mean that you do not meet with Ravi-Balen either. It does not mean that you support them by keeping photos from that time, saying that things have been agreed. If a decision is made to support, a statement will be made, a press conference will be held, right?’

And, Lingden claims that he will win in Jhapa-3 this time without the support of UML. ‘This time, all parties across the country are fighting the elections alone, and the RPP is also fighting the elections alone,’ he says. ‘I had said this publicly and within my party ranks as soon as the 2079 elections were over, that the RPP should prepare to fight the elections without coordinating with anyone across the country. Especially in Jhapa-3, the party chairman will now win the elections alone without coordinating with anyone. He will not form an alliance with anyone.’

In the 2079 elections, the RPP won Jhapa-3 by coordinating with the UML and, by fighting alone, in Jumla, Rupandehi, Chitwan, Makwanpur and other districts.’