The first meeting of the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal presidium held after the party’s registration with the Election Commission decided to organise its first central committee meeting from August 5 in Kathmandu.

The meeting of the 815-strong central committee would follow the unified party’s first office bearer meeting on August 2-4.

Following the merger of six Madhes-based parties, the RJP-N has 134 office bearers as it decided to retain all of them from the six constituent forces.

According to leader Rajendra Mahato, the venue for the central committee meeting was yet to be decided while the office bearers’ meet would be held the party’s central office in Babarmahal.

The two-day meeting of the presidium, which has top leaders of the six constituent forces, discussed ways to manage a meeting of the jumbo central committee.

The event would also include central chairpersons of the party’s sister wings as well as the chairs of its district presidiums.

RJP-N leader Sharat Singh Bhandari said the central committee would decide whether or not to take part in the third phase of local level elections scheduled to be held in Province 2 on September 18.

The presidium will prepare a political document to be presented in the central committee meeting.

All the six leaders have agreed to let incumbent Chairman Mahantha Thakur lead the party until the upcoming national convention but a formal decision on leadership is yet to be reached.

While forming the new party some three months ago, the leaders had agreed to rotate the leadership among the six chairs of the constituent parties every two months.