The Election Commission on Friday upheld the registration of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), in response to the claim by Rishiram Kattel that his Nepal Communist Party owned the name.

The party unified after a merger between the erstwhile CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) in June had applied to the EC to be registered as the Nepal Communist Party. After the poll body’s suggestions, the ruling party sought to be recognised as the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). The new party was registered in the first week of June. “The EC has decided to quash the petition filed by the Nepal Communist Party,” said Deepak Subedi, the EC spokesperson.

Dissatisfied, Kattel responded that he would now move the Supreme Court soon against the poll authority’s decision.

“We knew it from the very beginning but still we wanted to set a precedent,” said Kattel, adding that the party was not much hopeful of a victory in a court battle either. He warned that more parties of similar names could be registered with the EC in this way, making the commission’s task difficult.

Kattel said he had discussed the matter with the Nepali Congress but the opposition party did not support the cause.

After the two parties failed to resolve the row over their names, the case was taken to the Election Commission bench on Wednesday for a decision.Representatives from the parties had tried to thrash the issue earlier in the day, to no avail as both sides were adamant on their stances.

The EC registered the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) in 2018, accepting the acronym as part of its name, even though the Kattel-led party was listed with the EC in July, 2013.

The issue was heard by the bench of Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav, and Commissioners Ila Sharma, Narendra Dahal and Ishwori Prasad Poudel.But the Kattel-led NCP protested that it would get no justice from the bench of commissioners who had already registered the ruling NCP. Kattel’s party had urged the EC in the petition to respect its right to retain the acronym.A Maoist offshoot led by Netra Bikram Chand is also named the Nepal Communist Party but it is not registered with the Election Commission.