Vishwamitran National Party
Vishwamitran National Party विश्वामित्र राष्ट्रीय पार्टी | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Josh Ford |
| General Secretary | Toyotomi Tatsumi |
| Founded | 16 September 2022 |
| Headquarters | Swevalis |
| Membership (2022) | 12 |
| Political position | Right-leaning Big tent |
| Colors | Blue, Yellow, Gray |
| Lok Sabha | 5 / 20
|
The Vishwamitran National Party (abbreviated as VNP) is a right-leaning political party within the State of Vishwamitra which was founded on 16 September 2022 by former deputy prime minister Rory Leonard, who later went on to become the party's founding president. The main intentions of the party are to form a strong opposition against the uncontested government to ensure integrity, accurate representation and success of the nation. The party is also considered as the principal political rival of the National People's Congress.
Currently, the VNP is the chief opposition party in the Lok Sabha. The party headquarters are located in the overseas territory of Swevalis.
History
The Vishwamitran National Party was founded on 16 September 2022, days after the restriction on political parties and outfits were lifted and only months ahead of the 2022 Vishwamitran general election. Rory Leonard, a former president of the National People's Congress announced that it is time that the citizens of Vishwamitra receive a better choice for their representation in the politics, something that the VNP is guaranteed to provide them.
The party leadership completed all formalities for registration as laid by the Election Commission and was officially registered on 26 September 2022.
Policies
The Vishwamitran National Party is a right-leaning political party which supports the integrity, accurate representation and success of the nation along with the continuation of its traditionalist policies, the monarchy, growth and democracy of the nation. The party is a strong supporter of the nation's monarchy and for the freedom and beliefs of democracy, allowing all its citizens to have their right to speech and voice their opinion.
The party strongly advocates for the localization of the nation including reserving higher offices only for local citizens and the revitalization of local Vishwamitra. It also favors for the creation of a strong self-reliant realistic economy.
The major policy of the Vishwamitran National Party is the opposition to the single-handed control and dominance of the National People's Congress over the national politics.
Leadership
The leadership of the Vishwamitran National Party consists of a president, a vice-president, a general secretary, director of policy and other senior officials. Soon after the formation of the party, Rory Leonard was consensually chosen as the founding president of the party while Thomas Jacobs, a former minister and disqualified member of parliament became the party's founding vice-president. Meanwhile, Josh Ford was chosen as the party's director of policy.
The party contested the 2022 general election. Although the party managed to win from five constituencies, the party president was defeated by NPC President Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia in his home turf of Kalapani and further in a bye-election by NPC candidate Suryadeva Kapei in Maligaon constituency.
The party leadership fell into scrambles after the brief retirement of its leader from active politics in January 2023 to serve as the Chief Secretary to the Government. In order to succeed him as the party leader, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Toyotomi-Kim Tatsumi was chosen as the next party leader. This move upset many including former Prime Minister Ștefan Marius Sangoveanu who had earlier lost the bid to serve as the leader of the opposition. Following Tatsumi's election as the party leader, Snagoveanu resigned from the party and became an independent parliamentarian and later in March the same year along with another dissident Josh Ford pledged support to the ruling Congress party and join the union cabinet.
In May 2023, Ford was expelled from the cabinet on grounds of anti-government actions.[citation needed][disputed ]
Following his expulsion, he re-joined the Vishwamitran National Party and affirmed to reconstitute the party. He replaced Tatsumi as the party leader. In June 2023, Rory Leonard returned to the party and was appointed as the party vice-president as well as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Party leaders
| # | Name | Term start | Term end | Tenure | Subsequent positions held |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rory | 16 September 2022 | 10 December 2022 | 85 days | None |
| 2 | Dr. Toyotomi-Kim Tatsumi | 10 December 2022 | 17 May 2023 | 158 days | |
| 3 | Josh Ford | 17 May 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 187 days |
Membership
As of October 2022, the party membership stands at 12.
Electoral performance
The party contested from eight constituencies of the Lok Sabha in the 2022 general election during the leadership of founder president Rory Leonard. Of the eight candidates, two were unopposed elected after the Congress party candidates withdrew their nominations, while three were elected by popular vote. Three candidates including party chair, Social Welfare minister Kevin Doan lost the election.
Rory Leonard returned to politics in May 2023 and contested as an independent candidate for the bye-election to Noonmati constituency and was elected unopposed. After his election, he re-joined the VNP.
Lok Sabha elections
| Election | Leader | Seats won | Percentage | Rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 general election | Rory | 5 / 20
|
25% | 2nd | Opposition |
| Nov 2022 Maligaon bye-election | Rory | 0 / 1
|
0% | – | Lost |
| May 2023 bye-elections | Josh Ford | 2 / 2 [a]
|
100% | 1st | Won |
| 2023 general election | Josh Ford | 4 / 20
|
20% | 2nd | Opposition |
Notable members
- Josh Ford, Party President and Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, former Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information and Broadcasting
- Rory Leonard, Vice President and founder President, Leader of the Opposition, former Deputy Prime Minister
- Toyotomi-Kim Tatsumi, General Secretary and former President, former Leader of the Opposition
- Dinesh Rajagopalan, former Leader of the Opposition, Member of Parliament and Commissioner of Swarnarajya
- Kevin Doan, former Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Welfare
- Reuben Isze, former Member of Parliament and former party vice-president
- Juan Cisneros
See also
- National People's Congress, the ruling and dominant political party in Vishwamitra
- Social Democratic Party, defunct party and former opposition party
- Royalist Party of Vishwamitra, defunct party and former opposition party
- Green Socialist Party, defunct party and former opposition party
Notes
- ↑ Both candidates elected in the by-elections were originally independent and later on joined the party.