Renewed rift in Civil Liberation Party as Resham faction nominates Ghanshyam Chaudhary for ministerial post

Dhangadhi: A fresh dispute has surfaced within the Civil Liberation Party as internal factionalism between party patron Resham Lal Chaudhary and Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha emerges once again.

Chairperson Shrestha had recommended Kailash Chaudhary for the post of Minister of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment in the Sudurpaschim Province government. However, in a direct challenge to her authority, the faction aligned with Resham Lal Chaudhary nominated Ghanshyam Chaudhary instead.

The party's parliamentary meeting held on Baisakh 30 had decided to seek the central committee's opinion before recommending a ministerial candidate. In response, Chairperson Shrestha recommended Kailash Chaudhary on Baisakh 31 and communicated this to the parliamentary party. Kailash Chaudhary is known to be closely aligned with Shrestha.

Despite this, the Resham faction proceeded to send Ghanshyam Chaudhary’s name to Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah, disregarding Shrestha’s directive. Chief Whip of the parliamentary party Indira Giri confirmed that the letter naming Ghanshyam Chaudhary as minister was sent to the Chief Minister’s Office on Wednesday night, along with the decision of the parliamentary party. Ghanshyam Chaudhary, a Member of Parliament under the Nagarik Unmukti Party, leads the party’s parliamentary faction and is associated with Resham Lal Chaudhary’s side.

Although the letter was reportedly sent, Chief Minister Shah stated that it had not yet been received as of Thursday. “The letter from the parliamentary party has not reached me yet,” Shah said. “Yesterday afternoon, they had mentioned an agreement would be reached and the name sent, but I haven’t received it so far.”

The Nagarik Unmukti Party holds seven seats in the Far West Province Assembly. With the majority support leaning towards the Resham faction, Chairperson Shrestha’s effort to install Kailash Chaudhary as minister appears to be losing traction.

The Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment had been allocated to the Nagarik Unmukti Party in the provincial coalition. The position has remained vacant since Minister Laxman Kishore Chaudhary resigned on Chaitra 16 following a controversial audio leak. One and a half months later, the party has yet to appoint a replacement, disrupting the ministry’s operations.