The hidden reason behind the rift between the top leaders of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Ravi Lamichhane and Balendra Shah (Balen), during their joint election campaign has been revealed. The pre-scheduled rallies, which were reportedly postponed citing "technical reasons," were actually canceled after Balen expressed dissatisfaction with Ravi's remarks regarding the cooperative fraud case.
The Dispute Began at the Surkhet Rally
On Thursday, Falgun 7, the RSP organized a 'Declaration of Change Rally' at the Ghantaghar in Surkhet. After the second vice-chairman Dr. Swarnim Wagle read the manifesto, Balen delivered a speech that won the hearts of the Karnali people, receiving massive cheers. However, the dispute began when Ravi, who came to speak at the end, brought up the issue of cooperatives.
Ravi excitedly stated, “The government must address the citizens who haven't received their savings back; a people's government should return the savings to the victims.”
Balen strongly disliked Ravi's speech suggesting that the government should take responsibility and pay back the cooperative victims' money. As soon as the program ended, a heated argument broke out between the two leaders over this issue.
Balen's Strong Objection: "The Government Shouldn't Take Responsibility for Scammers!"
According to a source close to Balen, he strongly objected to Ravi's statement. Balen argued, "Victims are handing over details of the fraud to the candidates, and propaganda is being spread linking Ravi ji's name. At such a time, we should be saying that the government will force those who misused the funds to return them! We cannot say that the government will take responsibility for all the scammers."
Balen Returns to Kathmandu, Ignores Ravi's Calls
After Surkhet, a joint 'roadshow' featuring Ravi and Balen was scheduled in districts including Dang, Pyuthan, Rolpa, and Salyan. Both were supposed to go to Dang-2 to campaign for Ravi's close confidant, Joint General Secretary Bipin Kumar Acharya, who is competing against UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel.
However, after the dispute in Surkhet, communication between the two leaders completely stopped. Balen suddenly returned to Kathmandu and did not even answer Ravi's phone calls for some time. Subsequently, Ravi went on the roadshow alone, while the RSP postponed both major rallies scheduled for Falgun 9 in Bhairahawa and Falgun 10 in Pokhara, citing 'scheduling conflicts and technical reasons.'
Balen's Suspicions and Ravi's Apology
In Rupandehi and Pokhara, victims had been handing over documents of their trapped cooperative savings to RSP candidates. Sources claim that Balen decided not to attend those rallies after realizing it was a political maneuver: Ravi would promise in the rallies that the 'government will return the savings,' while using Balen's popularity to overshadow the blame of the cooperative scam.
The arrangements made by Kaski-1 candidate Ganesh Poudel to take Balen to Nepal's first homestay in Sirubari after finishing the Pokhara rally on Falgun 10 also fell apart. Although Ravi strongly insisted on holding rallies in both places, he was forced to proceed alone after Balen refused.
Ultimately, as this fallout between Ravi and Balen was about to surface publicly, other leaders intervened. It is reported that the dispute was settled only after Ravi apologized for his remarks at the urging of the leaders and an agreement was reached not to bring up the issue of cooperative fraud in that manner again.