After prolonged negotiations and back and forth proposals, three popular figures of the country’s alternative political space—Rabi Lamichhane, Balendra (Balen) Shah and Kulman Ghising—have signed a unity deal.

Energy Minister Ghising on Monday agreed to join Lamichhane’s RSP with an understanding to hold second rank as a vice-chair in the new party.

RSP chair Lamichhane and Anup Kumar Upadhyay, chairman of the Ujyalo Nepal Party, which is backed by Ghising, signed a seven-point deal to unify the two parties. Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah was the witness during the signing event.

Though Minister Ghising had not held any office bearer position in the Ujyalo Nepal Party, Monday’s agreement with Lamichhane has clearly stated that Ghising will be a vice-president of the RSP. There are two other vice-presidents–DP Aryal and Swarnim Wagle–in the RSP.

The Lamichhane-Ghising agreement was reached a day after Kathmandu mayor Shah and his team joined the RSP.

The agreement was finalised late Monday at the Kamalpokhari residence of former RSP lawmaker Ashim Shah. A draft, prepared earlier in the day, was signed after the three sides reached a compromise on the most contentious issue—proportional representation seat-sharing. They held hours-long meetings as they were under pressure to seal the deal on Monday, the deadline given by the Election Commission to submit the proportional representation (PR) list.

According to party insiders, Ujyalo Nepal Party patron Ghising agreed to join the unified party with a 17 percent share in the PR list. Though Ghising had initially demanded 30 percent, negotiators say he ultimately agreed on 17 after negotiation with Lamichhane and Shah.

The breakthrough was made possible reportedly after Sudhan Gurung of the Council of Gen Z intervened earlier in the day, personally bringing Ghising from Baudha—where he had been preparing a separate PR list—to the venue where Lamichhane and Shah were in talks.

The three leaders will fight the election under the RSP’s election symbol. While Lamichhane will be the party chief, Shah will be projected as the new unified force’s prime ministerial candidate if the party emerges as the leading force from the March 5 parliamentary elections.

RSP leaders said they were working to submit the merged PR list to the Election Commission before the midnight deadline.

For weeks, efforts to unify with Ghising had repeatedly collapsed over disputes concerning leadership positions, party name and election symbol.