Central Council member of Naya Shakti Nepal and former chairman of the Pokhara Valley Development Committee Jit Bahadur Gurung has joined the CPN (Maoist Centre).

After a meeting with Prime Minister and Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Baluwatar on Monday, Gurung announced his return to his former party.

As reasons for quitting the Bhattarai-led party, Gurung cited NSN’s electoral alliance with the Upendra Yadav-headed Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal and the party’s “failure” to prove itself as an alternative political force in the country as it had claimed during its launch.

Maoist Centre leader Dev Gurung was also present in the meeting with PM Dahal.