JSP open to joining government. With the election results in, and parties busy bartering for a new administration, the Janata Samajwadi Party has been debating whether to join the government—and, if so, how.
In this month’s parliamentary and provincial elections, two electoral alliances led by the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML faced off. However, none of them received the 138 seats needed to form a government.
Rakam Chemjong, a leader of the Janata Samajbadi Party, confirms that informal negotiations are taking place and that serious discussions about their next steps would begin when they finalize their candidates for proportional representation (PR) MPs on Saturday.
In the elections, the party joined with the CPN-UML, but its leaders have recently stated that the alliance has dissolved and that they are open to new collaborations. “We backed the UML in some constituencies, and they supported us in others,” JSP chair Upendra Yadav told journalists on Sunday in Biratnagar. “With the completion of the election, that collaboration based on mutual cooperation came to an end,” he remarked. “We’ll restart from here.”
Observers regard the party’s leaders’ views as a calculated effort to keep the door open for joining the Congress-led alliance, which is only two seats short of a simple majority.
The Congress won 89 seats in total in the November elections, the CPN-UML 78, the Maoist Centre 32, the Rastriya Swatantra Party 20, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party 14, the CPN (Unified Socialist) 10, the Janata Samajbadi Party 12, the Janamat Party 6, independent candidates 5, the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party 4, the Nagarik Unmukti Party 3, and the Rastriya Janamorcha and Nepal Majdoor
In a country where political upheavals are more common, a comfortable majority is the only way to ensure a stable government. Chemjong, the JSP leader, believes that pursuing a more comfortable majority will be the best option for the Congress-led alliance since a stable administration will gain public trust and operate well. JSP open to joining government.
