RSP and RPP chip away at Madhesh parties’ bargaining power

Parties like Janata Samajbadi and Loktantrik Samajbadi find themselves ignored in power-sharing negotiations.

The newcomer Rastriya Swatantra Party’s unexpected success and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s impressive comeback in the November elections have sharply curtailed the Madhesh-based parties’ bargaining power in ongoing power-sharing negotiations. Among the Madhesh-based parties, so far only the Janamat Party has joined the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and it too is not happy with its share in the Cabinet.