Kathmandu : ederal Council Chairman of Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSP-N) Ashok Rai has filed an application at the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to register a new party.

Leader Rai reached the Office of the ECN on Sunday afternoon and filed an application with the signatures of seven members of parliament of the JSP-N, informed party’s lawmaker Sushila Shrestha.

“We are seven MPs. We have submitted our signatures at the ECN to claim the legitimacy,” said Shrestha. Shrestha is the wife of Rai.

With the move of the JSP-N lawmakers led by Rai, JSP-N is on the verge of split. However, the law to enact such a move is currently inactive.

The then government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba had split JSP-N and then CPN (UML) by bringing an ordinance in 2078 BS. Even the ordinance was withdrawn immediately, the previous law has been not yet been revived.

Even though a bill to amend the Political Parties Act, 2017 was registered at the Federal Parliament Secretariat, it has not been tabled in the House meeting due to the protest of Nepali Congress.

There are 12 JSP-N lawmakers to the House of Representatives. JSP-N Chairman Upendra Yadav is the incumbent Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Heath and Population. There are three ministers including a state minister in the Prachanda-led cabinet from JSP-N.