The Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal has selected around 700 representatives from the districts for its unity convention scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in two weeks.

District conventions were concluded after the meets in villages, municipalities and regions. UP to 4,000 representatives from across the country and foreign departments of the party will be participating in the event that starts on February 17.

On November 22, two factions led by Kamal Thapa and Pashupati Shumsher Rana formed the new party. The RPP now commands 37 seats in the 595-strong Parliament, making it the fourth largest party. 

According to party Chief Whip Dilnath Giri, the election committee would receive the list of representatives by February 13.

“The representative selection process is almost over. Now our focus will be on holding the convention successfully,” said Giri.

The party leadership has already directed its local leaders to forward the final list of convention representatives to the central election committee by February 13, Giri added. The general convention will decide on the RPP’s position on republicanism and federalism, the issues that had earlier put the RPP and the RPP-Nepal at odds.

Before unification, Thapa’s RPP-Nepal had been championing the cause of reinstating constitutional monarchy and scrapping federalism. 

The Rana-led RPP, on the other hand, had embraced the republican order and federalism. The only issue that the factions had in common was reinstatement of Nepal as the Hindu state. The unity convention will elect a new leadership and a Central Working Committee.

Thapa and Rana are all set to fight for the chairmanship. The convention will elect one chairperson and a 150-member CWC, which currently has 300 members.