Key officer bearers, central committee members including Vice-president Ashok Kumar Yadav and General Secretary Kadam Rasul Ansari of Rastriya Janata Party Nepal have defected and formed a new party called Rastriya Janata Party (Prajatantrik).

The 33-member breakaway faction announced the decision at a press conference held at the Reporter’s Club Nepal on Friday while RJP-N members celebrated the party’s first anniversary in Gyaneswor. The new party’s political ideology centres on nationalism, democracy and socialism.

Under Yadav’s leadership, the new party has set up an 11-member ad-hoc committee to manage affairs until they hold the new party’s general convention.

The officer bearers of the new party are:- Ritesh Kumar Singh (joint coordinator), Madhu Maya Yadav (treasurer), and Subash Chandra Biraji and Jeevan Saha (the two general secretaries), Sadhana Yadav and Lukky Sharma (the two secretaries), Dipendra Yadav (spokesperson) while Dharma Raj Gupta, Bipana Acharya and Shambhu Pandit are members.

Speaking at the media conference, coordinator Yadav said although 63 Madhesis got martyrdom during the Madhes Movement, only six members of the presidium of the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal and their family members benefited from this.

The disgruntled members defected because the RJP (Nepal) dumped the primary agenda of Madhesi people and was planning to join the government.

The RJP-N celebrated its first anniversary at a reception today that included a cultural show. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri, Chief of the Army Staff Rajendra Chhetri and leaders from various parties attended the reception.