Deuba Faction Regrets Using Gagan Thapa's Signature for Election Tickets Following Supreme Court Ruling

Kathmandu. Leaders from the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction have begun to express that accepting election tickets signed by Chairman Gagan Thapa for the election held on Falgun 21, even before the resolution of the Nepali Congress legitimacy dispute, has proven costly for their group.

On Friday, the bench of Supreme Court Justices Sharanga Subedi and Nripadhwaj Niraula mentioned the issue of the signature on the tickets while resolving the dispute regarding the legitimacy of the Nepali Congress. The Supreme Court's brief verdict states, 'Since the nomination of candidates for the direct election of the Federal Parliament scheduled for Falgun 21, 2082, was completed under the signature of Mr. Gagan Kumar Thapa as the main official, and the election was also concluded, the political legitimacy has been established. At the time of filing the writ petition, the situation has undergone a fundamental change. Therefore, the justification for the request to cancel the statement issued regarding the calling of a special general convention and the related actions has ended. Furthermore, since the decision made by the Election Commission after studying and examining the available facts, documents, and evidence within the scope of Section 51 of the Political Parties Act, 2073, is final according to Section 46 (2) of the same Act, it does not appear appropriate to enter into the facts of the dispute and intervene through this writ petition.'

Based on this foundation, the Supreme Court on Friday granted legitimacy to the working committee led by Gagan Thapa, which was elected from the special general convention held in Kathmandu from Poush 27 to 30. However, Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was elected chairman from the 14th General Convention, and Purna Bahadur Khadka, whom Deuba had assigned the responsibility of acting chairman, had reached the Supreme Court with a writ against the Election Commission's decision to recognize the special general convention. With the Supreme Court granting legitimacy to the Gagan-led working committee in that same writ, leaders of the Deuba faction have started saying that there was a weakness in this.

The issue of contesting the election under Gagan's signature was raised during a meeting of the Deuba faction held at the Smart Hotel in Maharajgunj on Sunday. Some leaders expressed the view that while they did not accept Thapa as chairman, they did not receive legitimacy because they took tickets bearing his signature to contest the election.

Outgoing Central Member Govinda Bahadur Shah stated in the meeting that there was a problem because they went to contest the election by taking tickets with Gagan's signature. Quoting Shah's view in the meeting, a leader said, 'The problem arose because we contested the election by taking tickets with Gagan Thapa's signature. Why did our leaders contest the election under Gagan's signature? The Supreme Court has mentioned the fact of contesting the election under Gagan's signature in the brief verdict.'

Another outgoing Central Member, Ambika Basnet, also questioned why the Deuba-faction leaders went to contest the election by taking tickets with Gagan's signature. 'We did not accept him as chairman, but our leaders went to contest the election by taking tickets with his signature?' Basnet said in the meeting, 'Now the Supreme Court has made that a reason for not giving legitimacy.'

In the meeting, outgoing Central Member Mohan Bahadur Basnet also questioned the leaders, asking why they went to contest the election on Gagan's ticket. He said in the meeting, 'You went to contest the election by taking tickets with Gagan's signature because you got the tickets. Now the Supreme Court has pointed it out.'

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After the issue of the difficulty caused by contesting the election under Gagan's signature was raised in the meeting, leader Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat countered it. Dr. Mahat had contested and lost the House of Representatives election from Nuwakot-1. Quoting Dr. Mahat's statement in the meeting, a member said, 'We got the tickets for various reasons. If others had also received tickets, they would have contested the election. Do not say now that the Supreme Court did not give legitimacy because we contested.'

Leaders of the Deuba and Dr. Shekhar Koirala factions, who did not accept the special general convention under Gagan Thapa's signature, had gone to contest the election. Dr. Koirala himself had also contested the election.

In the House of Representatives election, Gajendra Prasad Limbu in Taplejung, Keshav Raj Pandey in Jhapa-1, Deuman Thebe in Jhapa-4, Bijay Kumar Gachhadar in Sunsari-3, Gyanendra Karki in Sunsari-4, Dinesh Yadav in Saptari-3, Ram Chandra Yadav in Siraha-2, Bimalendra Nidhi in Dhanusha-3, Mahendra Yadav in Dhanusha-4, Mahendra Raya Yadav in Mahottari-5, Binod Khanal in Sarlahi-3, Anil Rungta in Parsa-1, and Ajay Chaurasiya in Parsa-2 contested the election from the Deuba faction by taking tickets with Gagan Thapa's signature.

Similarly, Ramesh Rijal in Parsa-3, Sushila Thing in Sindhuli-2, Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat in Nuwakot-1, Mahalaxmi Upadhyaya (Dina) in Makwanpur-1, Buddha Lama in Makwanpur-2, Govinda Bhattarai in Tanahun-1, Shankar Bhandari in Tanahun-2, Manoj Gurung in Kaski-3, Tek Bahadur Gurung in Manang, Athar Kamal Musalman in Kapilvastu-1, Kishor Singh Rathore in Bardiya-2, Sandeep Rana in Palpa-1, Bishnu Bahadur Khadka in Surkhet-1, Pushpa Shah in Achham-2, NP Saud in Kanchanpur-2, Nain Singh Mahar in Dadeldhura, Aananda Bista in Kailali-4, and Narnarayan Shah in Kailali-5 contested the election.

Likewise, from the Koirala faction, Bheshraj Acharya in Ilam-2, Sarita Prasai in Jhapa-2, Dr. Minendra Rijal in Morang-2, Dr. Sunil Sharma in Morang-3, Dr. Koirala in Morang-6, Rajiv Koirala in Sunsari-2, Tejulal Chaudhary in Saptari-4, Kiran Yadav in Mahottari-2, Deepak Giri in Dang-3, Dr. Govinda Raj Pokharel in Pyuthan, Surendra Acharya in Kapilvastu-2, Sanjay Gautam in Bardiya-1, and Dr. Chandrakant Bhandari in Gulmi-1 contested the election.

Advocate Laxmi Rawal, former general secretary of the Democratic Lawyers Association, a well-wisher organization of the Congress, said that the Supreme Court's verdict did not mention only the basis of contesting the election under Gagan Thapa's signature. 'Going to contest the election by taking a signed ticket is a different matter, and the party is another matter,' Advocate Rawal told Ratopati, 'This is only moral, not legal.'