In Kathmandu, the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal (JSP-N), a part of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's coalition government, has split. A majority of its lawmakers and more than two dozen central committee members have applied to form a new party, as per the Election Commission.

A group led by the party's federal council chair Ashok Rai filed the application for the new party, while the party's chair Deputy Prime Minister Upendra Yadav is currently abroad.

Pradip Yadav, a JSP-N lawmaker, stated that 29 central committee members and seven lawmakers jointly applied for the new party.

Out of the party’s 12 House of Representatives members, seven, including Rai and others, have backed the new party named "Janata Samajbadi Party" without the "Nepal" suffix.

The Election Commission officially recognized the Ashok Rai-led Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) as a new political entity.

According to insiders, Rai initiated the new party under Prime Minister Prachanda's advice to counter Yadav, whose ties with the ruling coalition have soured. There were rumors Yadav was seeking alliances with opposition parties to challenge the government.

However, despite these developments, the ruling coalition, comprising CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center), maintains a fragile majority in Parliament.

Leaders of the Rai-led faction claimed they rebelled due to Yadav's autocratic leadership style, alleging disrespect towards lawmakers.

The split, although significant, is unlikely to destabilize the government for now, according to CPN-Maoist Centre's Central Member Sunil Kumar Manandhar. He stated that unless both CPN-Unified Socialist and JSP-N withdraw support, there's no need for a confidence vote in the Prachanda government.

The rift within JSP-N follows longstanding dissatisfaction within the party. Pressure from a faction led to discussions about holding a general convention, but the split occurred before any such event.

Rajendra Shrestha has been appointed federal council chair of the new party, with a 31-member central committee announced.

Although the Rai-led faction seeks recognition under the Political Party Act, legal provisions regarding party formation after a split remain unclear.

Previously, an ordinance amended the Act, facilitating the split of parties like CPN-UML and JSP. However, this ordinance was later repealed, leaving legal ambiguity.

The Election Commission is currently evaluating the situation based on existing legal provisions before making a decision.

Before the split, the ruling coalition held a comfortable majority in the federal lower house with 154 seats out of 275.

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