Two right-wing parties Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal and the RPP, the fourth and seventh largest forces in Parliament respectively, merged on Monday to become a single entity vowing to fight for reinstating Nepal as a Hindu state.

The united party has been named Rastriya Prajatantra Party, with RPP chief Pashupati Shumsher Rana the national chairman and RPP-N Chairman Kamal Thapa as the new chair exercising executive power.

Thapa leads the Central Working Committee and the Parliamentary Party while Rana chairs the party’s steering committee.

The new entity will still be the fourth largest party in Parliament, with 37 of the total 595 lawmakers. Except three, all the MPs from the united party were elected under the proportional representation system.

“A new democratic force has emerged. Our sole aim will be to make it the country’s largest party,” Thapa told a programme organised to announce the merger in the Capital.

While Thapa said the concerns of the Madhesi parties must be addressed immediately, he was silent on whether the new party will vote for a second amendment to the constitution adopted last year. His party has demanded revisiting the republican and secular order enshrined in the constitution if the government moved an amendment bill to address the concerns of the agitating parties.

Addressing the event, Rana said the merger was a step forward in reinstating Nepal as a Hindu nation. Claiming that a majority of the people wanted Nepal to be reverted to a Hindu state, he challenged the government to hold a referendum on the issue. The erstwhile RPP, a governing party, has its two members in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The factions are still divided over the agendas of republicanism and federalism. The unity convention of the party will in February address the issues.

A joint central committee meeting of the party would soon decide its position over supporting the government.

The RPP, which had been demanding executive chairman’s post for Rana, agreed to the second position after the RPP-Nepal, double in size, did not relent. The RPP-Nepal, however, will give the RPP an equal share—150 members—in the Central Working Committee.