Rastriya Prajantra Party (RPP) has split after a majority of central committee (CC) members ousted incumbent Chairman Pashupati Shumsher Rana replacing him with former Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand.

As many as 61 CC members from the existing 103 elected Chand as the new chairman, submitting their decision at the Election Commission (EC) to recognise the party under his leadership.

The Chand-led faction claimed that Rana was replaced since the party was ineffective and was run unilaterally under his leadership. They said that the party failed to play an effective role in constitution making and Rana failed to call a single CC meeting in his more than a year of tenure.

The Chand-led faction had been miffed ever since former PM and party Chairman Surya Bahadur Thapa

handed over the leadership to Rana without taking it into confidence.

In a joint general convention held in May 2013, when Thapa-led Rastriya Janashakti Party was merged with RPP, Thapa was elected as the chairman with an agreement that the leadership would change every year on rotation basis. The agreement was that Chand would replace him but Thapa ‘unilaterally’ handed over the leadership to Rana on June 8 last year.

According to Chand, Rana was ousted after he denied handing over the leadership even after completing his one year in June this year. “The party has only replaced its chairman, it has not split,” Chand said at a press meet on Sunday. “Rana is still in the central executive committee of the party”.  He claimed that five more CC members are ready to support him, making it a two-third majority for Chand. He assured to handover the leadership to Prakash Chandra Lohani after completing his one year tenure.

 However, Rana said that the party has formally split, claiming a majority of CC members still in favour of him. He added that 17 CC members close to Chand had been ousted from the party on Friday. “Therefore, I hold a majority and I still am the chairman,” he told the Post.

Leaders from the Chand-led faction claimed that Rana had no authority to sack the CC members and since he has not informed the EC, it holds no legality. According to clause 27 of EC Act, if a faction has the support of a majority of CC members and office bearers it legally gets the charge of the existing party, and the second faction can form a new party. But if the second faction does not command 40 pc it has to produce signature of 10,000 people to form a party.

The Chand-led faction claims to have two-thirds of CC members on their side while Rana says he still enjoys a majority