Clash at RSP Siraha District Convention Halts Election 

A dispute over leadership selection turned violent Monday at the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) district convention in Siraha, forcing election proceedings to be postponed until Tuesday morning.

The clash broke out at the convention venue in Jiromile, Siraha, when two factions engaged in pushing and physical altercations over the district leadership race. Among those assaulted was Dinesh Thapa, district chief of the Rapid Action Team.

Disagreements over the district committee leadership have been ongoing for some time. The three contenders for district president are Subhash Yadav, Ramsogarth Yadav, and incumbent president Hari Mainali.

Efforts to reach a consensus throughout Sunday failed to yield results. The party then decided to start the election process at 10 a.m. Monday.

However, tensions remained high in the morning and the election process was halted. The Election Commission tried to resume proceedings again at 2:30 p.m., but a clash erupted at the election office venue as soon as the process restarted.

Ramsogarth Yadav has been insisting that he should be selected as president through consensus. Meanwhile, Subhash Yadav and Hari Mainali have been demanding that the leadership be chosen through an election as per democratic process.

As the dispute intensified, the party’s Central Election Commission suspended the leadership selection process. According to a statement issued by Commission Chief Bhuwan KC, the election under the district convention will resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The controversy and clash have made the district leadership selection process even more complicated.