“It would be most appropriate for us to collaborate with independent forces such as Balen and Gopi Hamal instead of Oli and Prachanda [Pushpa Kamal Dahal].”

This statement by Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) General Secretary Mukul Dhakal on Wednesday has stirred a debate: are the new and traditional political forces really so incompatible that they cannot collaborate, and how likely is it for the new forces to come together?

RSP General Secretary Dhakal emphasised the need for working with new forces such as Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah and Mayor of Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City Gopi Hamal, rather than entering into coalitions and partnerships with older crop of politicians like CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also chief of the CPN (Maoist Centre).

Dhakal said so after submitting an assessment report on the RSP’s standing among the people to party president Rabi Lamichhane, who is deputy prime minister and home minister in the Dahal-led government.

Dhakal prepared the 32-page report after touring 38 districts and interacting with nearly 3,000 people in a period of one month as tasked by the party soon after its by-election debacle in Ilam-2.

After the tour, Dhakal concluded that giving continuity to the partnership with traditional political parties like the UML and the Maoist Centre could prove counterproductive for the RSP in the long run.

After the electoral setback in Ilam-2, where the party’s candidate could not even retain the security deposit, an RSP secretariat meeting on May 3 had tasked General Secretary Dhakal with the responsibility of conducting a nationwide tour to assess public sentiment towards the party.

Political observers see Dhakal’s call as obvious. As new political outfits get less space to manoeuvre while working with traditional parties, not only the RSP but other newer political forces also find it challenging to assert their relevance.

“As the new party that emerged as a political force by capitalising on public discontent with traditional parties failed to outperform them, a negative narrative is taking shape,” Chandra Dev Bhatta, a political scientist, told the Post.

Any political party needs a political plank to survive for any length of time. However, new outfits lack this, making it difficult for them to work with other political parties, especially the traditional ones, says Bhatta.

“When new political parties lack clear agenda and principles, on what basis will they have smooth cooperation with the traditional guards?” Bhatta added. “This is why new political forces will face difficulties while working with the old parties.”

But the RSP had a political plank. During the 2022 general elections, the party capitalised on the public disillusionment with the old political parties by promising good governance, and a crackdown on corruption.

The anti-corruption campaign quickly propelled the party into national politics within a short time after its establishment. However, the party failed to live up to the political agenda it championed during the election campaign when it joined the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government on December 25, 2022, for the first time.

The party quit the government within months after Lamichhane was stripped of his parliamentary position following controversy over his citizenship certificate. The party rejoined the Dahal-led government on March 4 after the changes in the coalition.

The RSP leaders have been criticised for failing to live up to their promises and colluding with traditional parties.

Dhakal, after submitting his assessment report to party chief Lamichhane, acknowledged that the party failed to fulfil the promises made to voters on the campaign trail.

“It was a mistake of the party to ally with the old guards of politics which the RSP heavily criticised in the past,” Dhakal told the Post.

Leaders from other new outfits think that it is a compulsion to work with the old forces despite differences in working styles.

Chandan Jha, general secretary of the Janamat Party, another new political outfit that emerged after the 2022 elections, says it is natural for new parties to feel uncomfortable while cooperating with traditional ones.

“One reason why new parties face problems while allying with old ones is differences in operational approaches between them,” Jha told the Post. “The working styles of new and old ones are different, which makes it difficult to collaborate.”

However, given our electoral system that has made it difficult for a political party to secure a majority in parliament, cooperation with other parties is the only way to form a government and survive, Jha adds.

The Janamat Party has succeeded in taking the leadership of the Madhesh provincial government by unseating the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal of veteran Madhesh leader Upendra Yadav. Various parties that Yadav led had continuously led the provincial government for over seven years.

The CK Raut-led Janamat Party succeeded in displacing Yadav’s party only with the support of traditional parties like the UML and the Maoist Centre. The Janamat Party supported the Dahal-led coalition at the centre and the UML-Maoist coalition backed the party’s leadership in the province.

A leader of the Maoist Centre describes the statement of RSP General Secretary Dhakal as a reflection of growing public frustration with the party. The new party that had enjoyed overwhelming public support during the 2022 election is now facing a reality check, says the Maoist leader.

“It is true that people disillusioned with traditional political parties supported the RSP and other new outfits during the 2022 elections,” Lekh Nath Dahal, Maoist Centre lawmaker told the Post. “But the level of public frustration is not always the same, and not always against the same parties.”

The RSP, which has failed to perform while in government, however, is blaming the old parties for its failure, Dahal said.

“What has the RSP done while leading the home ministry?” Dahal questioned. “Like the old parties, the president of a new political party is promoting and transferring police personnel at his whim.”

The Post briefly talked to the RSP’s Dhakal on Wednesday, immediately after he submitted the report to party president Lamichhane. He said that the party should explore the chances of collaborating with independent figures such as mayors Shah and Hamal even though the party does not endorse all of their activities.

“To start with, the RSP should cooperate with Shah on some of his plans such as clearing illegally occupied land in slum areas in Kathmandu,” Dhakal said. “By the end of 2083 BS [a year ahead of the 2027 election], the party should also consider forming alliances with Shah and Hamal.”

But political analyst Bhatta doubts the chances of collaboration between RSP and independent mayors Shah and Hamal. Bhatta says the working styles and issues championed by Shah, Hamal, and RSP leadership don’t match.

“However, if they somehow come together, they can possibly be a powerful political force,” Bhatta adds.