MB Subba 

After years of rumours that the former Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT)’s North Thimphu MP Kinga Tshering, was forming a political party, the founding member yesterday said that the new political party, Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa (DTT) will be officially launched on Monday.

Initiated together with the former DPT candidate from Thrimshing Kangpara, Chenga Tshering (PhD) among other members, the aspiring political party will hold its first convention in Paro on Monday, May 2.

When asked how different DTT would be from other parties, the founding members said they would avoid being “two-faced” politicians. 

One of the founders of DTT, Chenga Tshering (PhD) at the newly established party office yesterday

DTT officials said they had learned through people’s feedback that most politicians had been quick to change their attitude after the election.

“We will be open to criticisms,” Kinga Tshering said, adding that the party’s ideology would be different from that of others. However, he refused to elaborate on the issue saying that the party would talk about its ideology at the convention.

On Monday, the  DTT  will elect  its party president and other office bearers.   Party officials did not reveal who would be contesting for the posts. About 25 candidates will attend the convention, according to DTT officials.

When asked if his decision to resign from Parliament in 2016 could affect his election chances, Kinga Tshering said he would clarify it at the convention.

There are talks that he would contest from Punakha. The founding member and his wife own land and property in Punakha.

On ideologies, he said that the party had carried out a study on people’s expectations from the government and that they wanted clear and stable policies rather than issuing freebies.

The other founding member, Chenga Tshering, said that the party’s candidates had diverse professional backgrounds and had also roped in candidates from other political parties, including from the Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party.

“A lot of aspiring candidates are coming forward to join our party,” he said, adding that the party had put in a vetting process to select candidates.

They claimed that they had not engaged in any form of campaigning in their former positions, as the election Act did not allow them to do so.

Kinga Tshering said the party’s policies would be targeted towards the grassroots.

DTT officials said they had laid the groundwork to make the party credible.

Two aspiring political parties—Druk Gaki Tshogpa and Druk Kuenphen Tshogpa—were denied registration by the election commission in 2017.

The convention on Monday will be live-streamed on the party’s Facebook page to engage people both within the country and beyond.

“The day, coinciding with the birth anniversary of the third Druk Gyalpo is considered particularly auspicious for us, in that, it signals hope, a new lease on life and a new beginning,” the party stated in a press release on the choice of the convention date.

The press release states that a political party is only as good as the collective aspiration and efforts of its citizens. “We stand to serve, better.”

The party will apply for registration with the election commission after the convention.