The political conference was, however, postponed due to the imposition of emergency rule by King Gyanendra on February 1, 2005. RJP had expressed differences with King Gyanendra after the February 1, 2005, coup on political appointments in the local administrations. RJP accused the King of eliminating the forces working for constitutional monarchy, through his political actions. At the time, RJP tried to profile itself as a centrist party, in between positions advocating direct monarchical rule and republic. During the Loktantra Andolan, the RJP suggested that the King Gyanendra would initiate talks with constitutional forces. When the King was stripped of his political powers by the interim parliament, RJP did not object, and in November 2006, the Prajatantrik Nepal Party led by Keshar Bahadur Bista merged into RJP. Ahead of the Constituent Assembly election, RJP proposed having a mixed election system, with 75 district representatives and 230 members elected through proportional representation. The party also proposed creating an "Ethnic Assembly" as the upper house of parliament. On February 6, 2008, Thapa initiated unity talks with the leader of RPP, Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. In a joint press conference, both Thapa and Rana agreed to unite RJP-RPP as one single party. On March 6, he declared that his party was not monarchist, but would accept the verdict of the voters. RJP MPs had previously boycotted a vote in the interim parliament on making Nepal a republic. Thapa had dubbed the vote "an attack on the fundamental norms of democracy". Thapa died on April 15, 2015, aged 87 in Delhi, India, from respiratory failure while undergoing surgery. He is survived by three daughters and a son, Sunil Bahadur Thapa, a former minister of commerce and supply.