Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal ( ne, राष्ट्रिय प्रजातन्त्र पार्टी नेपाल;

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

: ''National Democratic Party Nepal'') is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

cultural conservative Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultur ...

. It previously existed as

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

political party in Nepal from 2006 to 2016. The party was formed as a splinter of Rastriya Prajatantra Party in 2006 and was later reunified in 2016. The party was reformed in 2022 by Kamal Thapa. The party supported the restoration of the

kingdom in Nepal under the

Shah dynasty The Shah dynasty ( ne, शाह वंश), also known as the Shahs of Gorkha or the Royal House of Gorkha, was the ruling Chaubise Thakuri dynasty ; and the founder of Gorkha Kingdom from 1559 to 1768 and later the unified Kingdom of Nepal ...

. Presently, the party advocates only

Hindu nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...

. The party was registered with the Election Commission of Nepal ahead of the April 2008 Constituent Assembly election for the first time. Ahead of the election, the party sought to form a front of royalist parties. In the 2013 elections, the party had emerged as the fourth largest party in the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

winning 24 out of 575 seats.

History

Founding, 2006–2008

It was started as a breakaway faction of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party under leadership of Kamal Thapa, home minister under King Gyanendra's direct rule. Thapa resigned as party chair in October 2006. RPP won the largest number of mayors in the 2006 municipal election. Rajaram Shrestha won in the capital

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

; also Khadga Prasad Palungua in

Dharan Dharan ( ne, धरान) a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Province No. 1, Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the third most populous city in Eastern Nepal after Biratnagar and It ...

, Pralhad Prasad Shah Haluwai in

Biratnagar Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the p ...

, Ram Shankar Shah in

Jaleswor Jaleshwar ( ne, जलेश्वर) is a municipality in Janakpur Zone, Nepal, and the headquarters of Mahottari District of Madhesh Province in Nepal. It is located in the Terai, on the border with India at Bhitthamore, Bihar, and has a Cu ...

, Sumitra Madhinne in

Bhaktapur , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...

, Madhukar Prasad Adhikari in

Hetauda Hetauda ( ne, हेटौडा, ) is a sub-metropolitan city in the Makwanpur District of Bagmati Province in central Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of the Makwanpur District and the capital of Bagmati Province as declared by m ...

, Bimal Prasad Shrivastav in

Birgunj Birgunj ( ne, वीरगञ्ज) is a metropolitan city in Parsa District in Madhesh Province of southern Nepal. It lies south of the capital Kathmandu, attached in the north to Raxaul in the border of the Indian state of Bihar. As an en ...

, Bidur Khadka in Baglung and Bhimsen Thapa in

Pokhara Pokhara ( ne, पोखरा, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. It is the List of cities in Nepal, second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 518,452 inhabitants living ...

. However this election was boycotted by most major parties. In April 2006, the Nepal Samata Party (Socialist) merged into the party. In January 2007 the splinter group

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nationalist) Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (Nationalist) was a right-wing monarchist party in Nepal. It is a splinter group of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party. The president of RPP (N) was Rajeshwor Devkota. In November 1996 RPP (N) formed a front of 3 right-wi ...

of Rajeswor Devkota rejoined the party. Bidwai Parishad of Jit Bahadur Arjel also merged with them On March 2, 2008, Rabindra Nath Sharma stepped down as party chairman, citing health reasons. Kamal Thapa again became chairman."Sharma resigns as RPP-N chief; Thapa takes over"
Nepalnews, March 2, 2008.

Constituent Assembly, 2008–2015

The party won four seats in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election. At the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly on May 28, 2008, the party was the only party to oppose the declaration of a republic; there were 560 votes in favor of a republic and only the party's four votes against. Thapa subsequently said on June 20, 2008 that the country faced an impending "disaster", urging alertness among the party. He said that the party's policies and programmes would remain the same despite the political change. On July 13, 2008, he described the abolition of the monarchy as merely "an interim decision", saying that the party sought the restoration of the monarchy. The party boycotted the July 2008 presidential election in the Constituent Assembly, on the grounds that the major parties were treating the election as a partisan contest. In August 2008 some senior leaders, including Rabindra Nath Sharma and Rajeshwor Devkota, left the party and joined the Rastriya Prajatantra Party. The party won 24 seats under proportional representation in the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections making it the fourth largest party in the

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

. The party split following differences over naming candidates to the proportional representation seats won by the party. Central leaders of the party including former minister Tanka Dhakal and former Kathmandu mayoral candidate Rajaram Shrestha registered a new party the 'Nepali Rastriya Prajatantra Party' at the

Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

on 30 December 2013. However, the Election Commission turned down the breakaway group's request seeking recognition as a new party and claim of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

seats. Tanka Dhakal later announced his return to the party stating "Splitting the party at this moment is not in our interest. It will weaken democracy" Other dissidents leaders said it was Chairman Kamal Thapa's "concession on monarchy and Hindu state" that precipitated the split.

Unification, 2015–2016

When the party joined the government of Khadga Prasad Oli, Bikram Bahadur Thapa and Kunti Devi Shahi became state ministers. On 21 November 2016, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal and Rastriya Prajtantra Party announced their unification. The new party retained the name of Rastriya Prajatantra Party. The new party had a total strength of 37 in the

Parliament of Nepal The Federal Parliament of Nepal ( ne, संघीय संसद नेपाल, translit=Saṅghīya Sansada Nēpāla, label=none) is the bicameral federal and supreme legislature of Nepal established in 2018. It consists of the National ...

becoming the fourth largest party. Kamal Thapa was elected chairman of the party in a special general convention in Kathmandu in February 2017.

Revival, 2022-present

On 13 February 2022, Kamal Thapa who had prior made a declaration of leaving Rastriya Prajatantra Party made a press release about joining the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal soon as the national president of the party. After the revival, the party left the agenda of Constitutional monarchy which the party had taken as its ideology for a long period. The main agenda of the new party remains

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

. On 21 July 2022, Former Urban Development Minister Dil Nath Giri, Former RPP Vice-President Dil Bikash Rajbhandari along with leaders Shyam Timalsina, Keshavraj Shrestha, Daman Basnet, Sudha Joshi, Ranjita Shrestha and Dipesh Khatri resigned en masse from RPP and joined hands with Kamal Thapa in a welcome program in Kathmandu.

Electoral performance

References

{{Authority control Nepalese Hindu political parties Hindu nationalism in Nepal 2022 establishments in Nepal Political parties disestablished in 2016 Right-wing parties 2016 disestablishments in Nepal