KATHMANDU, Oct 16: Major political parties are holding off on their traditional central-level tea receptions and greetings exchange programmes for Dashain, Tihar and Chhath this year amid widespread loss of lives and property caused by floods and landslides across the country.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and Nepali Communist Party (NCP) have indicated that they will not hold formal celebrations at the central level, although some have yet to make formal decisions.
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RSP spokesperson Jagdish Kharel said the party had not decided on a central-level tea reception as of Friday. However, provincial and district-level units have not been barred from organizing such programmes.
NC former spokesperson Devaraj Chalise said the party had yet to decide on the event, partly because it was busy preparing for its general convention.
CPN-UML Publicity and Publication Department chief Niraj Acharya said the party might skip the programme this year due to the flood and landslide disasters and the family bereavement of its chairman. The UML had traditionally hosted a Dashain tea reception at its party office on the full-moon day since Manmohan Adhikari's leadership, but did not hold one in 2024 or 2025 either.
NCP spokesperson Prakash Jwala said the party had decided against holding a central-level Dashain-Tihar greetings programme in view of the devastating floods in areas including Bhotekoshi and Budhi Gandaki.
The disasters have affected several districts and left thousands of people homeless, increasing the need for rescue, relief and rehabilitation. Against this backdrop, political parties are prioritizing the disaster situation over formal festive celebrations.