President of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Rabi Lamichhane has been named parliamentary party leader.

A meeting of the party held on Monday morning picked Lamichhane for the post. The party is yet to select a deputy parliamentary party leader, chief whip and whip.

Winning a combined 20 seats from both the first-past-the-post (FPTP) and proportional representation (PR) categories, the Rastriya Swatantra Party became the fourth-largest force in the 275-member lower house.

The party, however, is yet to come up with a formal decision on joining the next government. Party leaders are divided—some are lobbying to join, while others are strictly against it.

Its president, Rabi Lamichhane, appears to be in the former camp.

Speaking after receiving the certificate of his election on November 25, Lamichhane said the party would forge necessary alliances. “Our party did not ally with any force during the polls, but we can still support a force that’s working for the country’s betterment,” he said.

By contrast, many of its other leaders say that they should rather remain a strong opposition.

“Our president and some other leaders have a strong desire to join the new government, even though the mandate is to remain in the opposition and build our party first,” a central committee member of the party told the Post, requesting anonymity. “Our party is in its infancy and vulnerable.”