Nepali Congress Leadership Seeks Unity Amidst Internal Strife Following Special General Convention

The committee led by Gagan Thapa, which gained institutional status through a special general convention amidst dissatisfaction from the faction led by then-Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and the dissenting group led by Dr. Shekhar Koirala, is currently striving to maintain unity within the party.

The Deuba faction and the Shekhar faction have filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court opposing the recognition of the committee that emerged from the special general convention by the Election Commission. Upon preliminary hearing on Magh 4, the bench of Justice Sunil Pokharel ordered the submission of a written response within 15 days.

While the legal challenge regarding their legitimacy is pending in the Supreme Court, Gagan Thapa himself and the committee under his leadership are moving forward with decisions aimed at reducing internal disputes. Eight days after receiving official recognition from the Election Commission, as he took office at the party's central office in Sanepa on Magh 9, Chairman Thapa arranged for a portrait of Sher Bahadur Deuba to be placed in his office as a former president.

While speaking to journalists after the Central Working Committee meeting following taking office, Thapa recalled Deuba as a "revered leader." Thapa connected the dignity and history of the chair he occupies with Deuba. "This chair has been occupied by B.P. Koirala, Suvarnasamsher, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Girija Prasad Koirala, and Sushil Koirala," Thapa stated, "And this is the chair occupied by the revered leader Sher Bahadur Deuba. I understand that while sitting in this chair might be comfortable, fulfilling the responsibilities is equally challenging."

Thapa stated that he holds full respect for the outgoing President Deuba and all senior leaders, and that everyone's existence is acceptable within the party's internal democracy.

Two decisions made by the Central Working Committee meeting on Friday are designed to please the Deuba group. The fourth decision of the Central Working Committee, which made five decisions, is related to the National Assembly elections. That clause of the decision reads: "The responsibility of coordinating necessary arrangements on behalf of the party for the National Assembly member elections to be held on Magh 11, 2082, is entrusted to Deputy Chairman Pushpa Bhusal."

The selection of party candidates for the National Assembly election was made by the previous committee. Although Mahamantri Thapa, elected from the 14th General Convention, boycotted the meeting that selected the candidates, the current meeting under his chairmanship assigned the responsibility of coordination to the Deputy Chairman.

Not only that, but the special general convention of the Congress had decided not to form any alliances in the elections. The previous committee had decided to form an alliance with the CPN-UML for this National Assembly election. Spokesperson Devraj Chalise stated that ownership of this decision was taken.

"Since we have been elected according to the statute, we have decided to take ownership of all decisions of the old Central Committee as an undisputed succession," Spokesperson Chalise said. "There is also time for review if anything needs to be corrected, but since the cooperation with the UML in the National Assembly election is only linked to the election and does not imply that the alliance will continue in the future, we have continued it."

The meeting on Friday also decided to form a Central Office Building Reconstruction Committee, chaired by outgoing Treasurer Umesh Shrestha, to rebuild the party's central office building which was set on fire during the 'Genji' agitation on Bhadra 23 and 24. Shrestha had been nominated as Treasurer by Deuba.

Upon the Election Commission recognizing the special general convention, all members of the outgoing committee were removed from the Central Working Committee. Those leaders who had moved the court against the committee under their leadership were also given tickets to contest the direct elections of the House of Representatives.

In the fielding of candidates on behalf of the party in the 165 constituencies of the House of Representatives, Chairman Thapa allocated 19 percent share to the outgoing President Deuba group and 8 percent to Dr. Koirala's group.

Chairman Thapa issued tickets under his signature to 32 leaders from the Deuba group and 13 leaders from Dr. Koirala's group. Thapa issued tickets to 120 leaders from his own group.

Leaders from the establishment faction state that Chairman Thapa's generosity lies in giving tickets to those who filed the writ petition against his committee. "The Chairman gave tickets to leaders who went to the Supreme Court against him with the objective of maintaining unity in the party and preserving internal democracy," said an office-bearer from the establishment faction. "Otherwise, none of them were in his Central Committee or Parliamentary Board. What was the necessity to give tickets!"

Conversely, the outgoing establishment faction claims that they are not experiencing behavior consistent with the rhetoric of advocating for kinship, favoritism, and internal democracy even after leaders espousing these values came to power. Leaders from the Deuba group, who stated that criticizing the formal party leadership while the country is heading into elections is not appropriate, mentioned that their conduct after the elections would determine how they move forward.