Nepal: Three years after Sher Bahadur Deuba got re-elected to the party president of Nepali Congress, the issue of who is the party’s second in hierarchy after Deuba is yet to be resolved.
The
Nepali Congress organised the party’s Koshi provincial conference in
Biratnagar, the first of its kind convened after the party adapted to the
provincial structure. Some key leaders opted out though. Among those were
Shekhar Koirala, who leads the party’s anti-establishment faction, and party
general secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma.
The
boycott of Koirala and other leaders has triggered an intra-party debate. At
the provincial level, the conference is considered the second most important
event in the party’s organisational affairs after provincial convention, which
elects provincial leadership.
Party
president Deuba, Senior Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka, General Secretary
Gagan Thapa, former general secretary duo Shashank Koirala and Krishna Prasad
Sitaula including other second-rung leaders of the party took part in the
conference.
Koshi’s
former chief minister Kedar Karki, who is close to Shekhar Koirala, gave two
reasons why Koirala didn’t participate.
The
party had not consulted Koirala on the provincial conference and he got the
invitation late, said Karki, “which is why Koirala instead took part in a
pre-set function in Chitwan”.
Contrary
to Karki’s claim, other leaders close to Koirala said that the top leader
skipped the conference for other reasons.
“As
Koirala’s supporters, we had asked the top party leadership to ensure Koirala’s
hierarchy would be just below party president at the conference. But our demand
was ignored,” a leader close to Shekhar Koirala told the Post. “This is why he
skipped the meet.”
Shekhar
Koirala and his faction have been demanding that he be given the second
position after the president in the party hierarchy. In Congress, the leader
who is runner-up in the race for the party’s presidential election is usually
given second position. Koirala is yet to be given that position. He was the
closest contender for the post of president at the 14th general convention,
when Deuba retained the party’s top post.
Senior
journalist Purushottam Dahal, who is close to Congress, said it is not
mandatory for a leader in the Congress to be given the title of senior leader
with second position in the hierarchy.
“But
that would also not be something abnormal,” Dahal added.
Earlier,
Ramchandra Paudel, who lost to Deuba in the race for party presidency in 2016,
was given the second position and designated as senior leader. Shekhar Koirala
is now asking for the same.
At
present, Purna Bahadur Khadka who is the party’s senior vice-president, is in
the second position after party chief Deuba. Khadka was elected as
vice-president at the party’s last general convention.
Koirala,
who opted out of the Saturday’s provincial gathering, however, had organised a
separate meeting of his faction, which was attended by municipal-level chairmen
in Biratnagar on December 3 by defying the party central committee’s circular.
Leaders
Shekhar Koirala, Sunil Sharma, Dig Bahadur Limbu, Minendra Rijal, and Gururaj
Ghimire, among others, attended the closed session.
Ghimire,
a Congress leader from Koirala-led camp, said that Koirala did not participate
in Saturday's conference “due to the incompetence of the party president and
the provincial president”.
Ghimire
said that although Koirala was placed second in party hierarchy in the two
provincial conferences organised earlier, he was not given that hierarchy in
the Koshi provincial gathering—even though the event was being organised in his
own constituency.
Before
Koshi province, the Congress held such provincial conferences in Lumbini and
Gandaki. In both gatherings, Koirala was invited in the capacity as party
leader after the president, said Ghimire.
Koirala
also had attended both the conferences.
While
Koirala reached Chitwan citing his engagement in an pre-arranged event, General
Secretary Sharma went to Solukhumbu for a Khumbu trek. According to the
secretariat of Sharma, Khubmu trek had been scheduled earlier. But it had to be
postponed after Sharma was appointed the party’s commander for the December 1
bypolls.
“It
is the failure of the party president and provincial president to not be able
to accommodate two influential party leaders in the provincial conference,”
Ghimire said.
In
Koshi, Uddhav Thapa, who is close to Krishna Prasad Sitaula, is the provincial
chief. Sitaula himself is now considered close to party president Deuba.
“It
would be easier for us if the party statute itself clearly defined the role and
hierarchy of senior party leaders,” Thapa said.
General
Secretary Gagan Thapa said that everyone needs space and respect while
addressing the conference.
General
Secretary Thapa, who participated in the conference organised in Koirala’s
hometown Biratnagar, emphasised that leaders should put aside ‘technical
issues’ and prioritise party unity.
“Unity
in the party is essential, and necessary to bring everyone together,” said
General Secretary Thapa. “It is not enough to talk about technical unity, it is
a political matter that needs to be resolved politically… everyone should be
accommodated.”
But
Thapa, who was earlier with Koirala and jointly led the ‘Koirala-Thapa camp’,
lambasted the factional gathering organised by Koirala in Biratnagar.
Shekhar
Koirala and Gagan Thapa formed a panel and contested for the posts of party
president and general secretary, respectively, in the last general convention.
While Deuba defeated Koirala, Thapa got elected as a general secretary.
Now,
Deuba is out of the race as the party statute puts a two-term limit on party
chief, while both Koirala and Thapa are aspirants for the top position. Of
late, Thapa has been inching closer to Deuba while Koirala has been hardening
his position against Deuba and his Saturday’s posture could be part of the same
strategy, observers said.
The
14th general convention of the Nepali Congress was held in December 2021. The
party charter gives each elected body a tenure of four years. But if the
general convention cannot be held within four years, the charter provides for a
year’s extension.
0 Comments