KATHMANDU, August 15: Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Chairman Upendra Yadav has removed 16 leaders including Mahanta Thakur and Rajendra Mahato from the party’s Central Committee. Chairman Yadav has decided not to call 16 leaders close to Thakur, including Thakur and Mahato, at the party’s central committee meeting, which is scheduled to be held on August 17 and 18.

JSP is sending the list of central members to the Election Commission without leaders including Thakur and Mahato today. Executive Committee member Istiaq Rai said, “Now they (Thakur, Mahato) are only party members. That is why we have not invited them to the Central Committee meeting.”

Mahanta Thakur was removed from the post of chairperson in the list sent by JSP to the Election Commission to update the list of party’s office bearers including central working committee members a few days ago. In the updated list, only 35 leaders have been included in the executive committee. After the commission updated the list, Thakur has stopped writing the post of chairman. Earlier, he had organized a program in the Terai Madhes under the name of JSP Chairman.

Yadav has removed all the leaders who had sided with Thakur during the Election Commission's 'census' on the issue of JSP's authenticity. This is the first meeting of the Central Committee to be held on August 17 and 18 after the formation of the party. The party has been divided without holding the first meeting of the central committee. However, the Mahanta Thakur-Rajendra Mahato faction has not announced the name of the new party.

When the then Rashtriya Janata Party and Samajbadi Party merged,top leaders of the two parties had agreed to have 800 central members in the party. There was also an agreement to keep 400 people from the former RJP and 400 from the former Samajbadi Party in the central committee. As per the agreement, Samajbadi Party recommended the names of 400 candidates but the former RJP recommended only 379 names. 

Although the JSP has already seen a split, the Thakur-faction has decided not to announce a new party immediately. The Thakur faction has made a strategy of not announcing the new party immediately as they will lose their parliamentary seats. The Thakur faction plans to practice the new party while remaining in the current party. The Thakur faction has been holding gatherings of leaders and cadres close to it for the past few days.

 
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