Internal dispute has surfaced within the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP) after Santosh Kumar Pandey was reappointed as Minister for Youth and Sports in Lumbini Province on Sunday.

Chief Minister Chet Narayan Acharya appointed Pandey, the party’s parliamentary leader, to the ministerial position. His swearing-in is scheduled for 3pm on Monday before the provincial head.

While the party has only three seats in the Lumbini Provincial Assembly, Pandey has become a minister for the fourth time.

Previously, he served as Minister for Physical Infrastructure twice under CPN-UML’s Shankar Pokharel and the CPN (Maoist Centre)’s Kul Prasad KC-led governments, and Minister for Internal Affairs and Law under Nepali Congress’s Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary’s Cabinet.

His repeated appointments have triggered resentment within the party, with leaders and cadres expressing dissatisfaction on social media, accusing the leadership of favouritism and ignoring internal consultation.

Until July 1, the party was part of the ruling coalition. On July 2—the day the budget was passed—Pandey submitted a letter to the provincial assembly withdrawing support from the government, aligning the party with the opposition. This move allowed the budget to pass with a slim majority.

Despite being in the opposition, Pandey’s re-entry into government without convening the parliamentary party meeting or holding internal discussions has drawn criticism from party leaders.

Deputy assembly leader Kanhaiya Baniya said, “No party meeting was held, and no formal decision was made to support the government. We only learnt about the ministerial appointment through media reports. The party will officially oppose this.”

Baniya claimed that the party remains in opposition and Pandey’s letter to the assembly is invalid. However, Pandey maintained that the party decided to support the Acharya-led government on Sunday and informed the provincial secretariat accordingly, after which he was appointed minister.

Pandey holds multiple positions within the party, including the party’s assembly leader, Lumbini provincial chief and regarded as a powerful leader even in the central committee.

Baniya is a provincial assembly member and central committee member. Another assembly member, Hema Belbase, is close to Pandey.

Rupandehi-based leader Jagarnath Sahani also opposed Pandey’s appointment.

“The election is coming. Baniya will rise again. Let’s see how long you can stop him.” Sahani wrote on Facebook in support of Baniya.

With the LSP rejoining the government, the number of ministers in Lumbini has now reached 12.

Previously, the Congress and UML had five ministries each. The Janata Samajbadi Party has taken the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, while LSP has got the Ministry of Youth and Sports.