Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal
Social democratic party in Nepal
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The Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal (Nepali: लोकतान्त्रिक समाजवादी पार्टी, lit. 'Democratic Socialist Party') was a former political party in Nepal. The party had a significant presence in Madhesh Province and Lumbini Province. The party's election symbol was the bicycle.[4] The party later merged into People's Socialist Party, Nepal on 11 January 2025.[5]
Democratic Socialist Party, Nepal लोकतान्त्रिक समाजवादी पार्टी, नेपाल | |
|---|---|
| President | Mahantha Thakur |
| Senior leader | Sharat Singh Bhandari |
| Founded | 18 August 2021 |
| Dissolved | 11 January 2025 |
| Split from | PSP-N |
| Merged into | PSP-N |
| Headquarters | Babarmahal, Kathmandu |
| Student wing | Democratic Student Union |
| Ideology | Madheshi regionalism Social democracy |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Alliance | Democratic Alliance[1][2][3] |
| Colours | |
| House of Representatives | 4 / 275 |
| National Assembly | 1 / 59 |
| Madhesh Provincial Assembly | 9 / 107 |
| Lumbini Provincial Assembly | 3 / 87 |
| Mayors/Chairs | 16 / 753 |
| Councillors | 581 / 35,011 |
| Election symbol | |
| |
| Party flag | |
 | |
The party was officially registered with the Election Commission, Nepal on 18 August 2021.[6][7] Mahantha Thakur is the president of the new party.[8][9] As of August 2022, the party shares an alliance with Nepali Congress.[10][11]
Ideology
The party followed the norms of social democracy, identity and Madhesi rights.[12]
Ideologically, the party was close to the Nepali Congress, while a majority of its leaders have been part of Congress at different points in time, especially before the 2006 Madhesh Movement.[12] Party president Mahantha Thakur and senior leader Sharat Singh Bhandari were popular Congress men at one time. Thakur himself was treasurer and head of party disciplinary department before he left the Nepali Congress party.[13] They were elected several times to the House of Representatives on the party ticket.[14]
History
Registration
The President of Nepal issued the second ordinance to amend the Political Parties Act on 18 August 2021.[15][16] This opened the way to formalize the splits inside the dispute between two factions of Janata Samajbadi Party, Nepal. The faction of party led by Mahantha Thakur, which had a long dispute with party chairman Upendra Yadav registered their party with the Election Commission.[17] At the time of the launch, the party claimed to have 13 members in the two national houses of parliament.[18][19]
The new party was supported by 16 MLAs in Madhesh Provincial Assembly. A Central Committee with 24 members was announced as well.[20] Senior leader of the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party Rajendra Mahato quit the party and announced a Rastriya Mukti Party.[21]
First local election
The party emerged as fourth largest party of Madhesh province winning 16 local levels from among 753 local levels even standing alone in the elections.[9] Nepali Congress emerged as single largest party of Madhesh province for second consecutive term, CPN (UML) emerged as second and while Janta Samajbadi was limited to third position.[22]
First general election
In the mid of March, the party started talks with the Nepali Congress for a possible long term alliance between the two parties. Party chairman revealed this in a party meet in Janakpur on 22 March 2022.[23] The party formed a committee for bilateral talks with Nepali Congress consisting Sharbendra Nath Shukla and Laxman Lal Karna in which party senior leader Sharat Singh Bhandari played vital role as mediator.[23]
Bhandari had stood long for a Loktantrik alliance between democratic parties of Nepal. Both Loktantrik Samajwadi Party and Nepali Congress have some common ideologies including social democracy, democratic socialism.[24] The party won 9 seats in Madhesh province while it won 3 seats in Lumbini province. However, in the general election it was limited to 4 seats only after being unable to cross 3% threshold due to wave of newly formed parties.[25][26][27]
List of Members of Parliament
Members of Rastriya Sabha
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Member | Portfolio & Responsibilities / Remarks |
| Madhesh | Shekhar Kumar Singh |
|
Members of Pratinidhi Sabha
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (4) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Constituency/PR group | Member | Portfolio & Responsibilities / Remarks |
| Mahottari 3 | Mahantha Thakur |
|
| Sarlahi 1 | Ram Prakash Chaudhary |
|
| Mahottari 2 | Sharat Singh Bhandari | |
| Rupandehi 4 | Sarbendra Nath Shukla | |
Electoral performance
General election
| Election | Leader | Party list votes | Seats | Position | Resulting government | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | |||||
| 2022 | Mahantha Thakur | 167,367 | 1.58[a] | 4 / 275 |
9th | Confidence & supply |
- Represented as Independent for not reaching the 3% threshold
Provincial election
Local election
| Election | Leader | Mayoral seats won |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mahantha Thakur | 16 / 753 |
List of cabinet ministers and chief ministers
Cabinet ministers
| No. | Name | Portrait | Term of office | Days in office | Ministerial incharge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central government | ||||||
| 1 | Sharat Singh Bhandari | 31 March 2023[28] | 4 March 2024 | 339 days | Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security | |
| 15 July 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 22 days | ||||
| Madhesh government | ||||||
| 1 | Ramesh Prasad Kurmi | 25 May 2023[29] | 16 April 2024 | 327 days | Minister for Forest and Environment | |
| 2 | Rani Kumari Tiwari | 18 July 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 19 days | Minister for Education and Culture | |
| Lumbini government | ||||||
| 1 | Santosh Kumar Pandeya | 28 April 2023[30][31] | 4 April 2024 | 342 days | Minister for Interior Affairs, Law and Co-operatives | |
Chief ministers
| No. | Name | Portrait | Term of office | Days in office | Ministerial incharge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madhesh government | ||||||
| 1 | Jitendra Prasad Sonal |  |
16 October 2025 | Incumbent | 294 days |
|
Leadership
Chairmen
- Mahantha Thakur (2021–present)[8]