Party President Rabi Lamichhane's political power and command have reached an almost zero state within his own party. The participating ministers in the government have started completely ignoring his directives, while Prime Minister Balendra Shah has also not given him much importance.
Clear evidence of Lamichhane's weakened political power was seen in the recent Deputy Speaker election. His political commitment to give the Deputy Speaker post to the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) failed. In contrast, with the direct support of Prime Minister Balen, Rubi Thakur of the Shram Sanskriti Party clinched the post.
The main reason for this isolation within the party is the cooperative fraud scandal, which is directly connected to the daily lives of the general public. Cases are still pending in various courts across the country against Lamichhane, who was released after paying millions of rupees in bail, which has dealt a severe blow to his public image.
Apart from the cooperative case, a series of allegations leveled against him have badly shattered his moral ground. Serious controversies such as passport misuse, the citizenship dispute, the Salikram suicide case, the Kantipur scandal, allegations of extortion journalism, and the divorce from his first wife are constantly haunting him.
Due to these very moral crises, despite holding the highest post in the party, Lamichhane has not been able to maintain a high command. On the other hand, Prime Minister Balen's monopoly control has been established in the operation of the government, and the entire cabinet appears fully loyal only to the Prime Minister.
The equation and psychology of the Members of Parliament also stand against Lamichhane. Most of the MPs have given the main credit for their electoral victory to Balen's name and the political atmosphere he created. For this reason, the loyalty of the MPs has tilted more towards Prime Minister Balen than the party president.
On one hand, the lost credibility within the party, and on the other hand, the high risk of being convicted by the court in the cooperative and passport cases have created serious psychological and political pressure on Lamichhane. If he is found legally guilty, it has increased the possibility of putting a full stop to his political future.
