The Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition at the federal level as well as in six of the seven provinces, is still smarting from its heavy electoral losses in the 2017 elections. Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba has looked to hang on, refusing to take personal responsibility for the party’s electoral setbacks. But it’s getting increasingly tougher for him to continue as president in the face of a strong challenge to his style of ‘autocratic’ lead­ership from old establishment figures like Ram Chandra Poudel, dynastic politicians like Shekhar Koirala and Prakash Man Singh and the younger generation led by Gagan Thapa. The party has just completed a nation-wide tour to gauge public sentiment on how the Grand Old Party may be revived. In this context, Biswas Baral and Kamal Dev Bhattarai spoke to political ana­lyst Puranjan Acharya, a close observer of Congress politics

 

 

How do you evaluate the perfor­mance of the Nepali Congress as an opposition party over the past year and half?

In the initial six to nine months of the Oli government’s formation, the opposition party was as good as nonexistent. In this time, a sec­tion of the ruling Nepal Commu­nist Party (NCP) led by Bhim Rawal played the role of the opposition. The main opposition party leader is Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is also Congress President and a federal parliamentary party leader. Anoth­er opposition leader is Congress General Secretary Shashank Koira­la, a federal MP. At the center, the NC could play the role of effective opposition through its parliamen­tary party leader. Ditto in the seven provinces. The party can revive if its parliamentary party leaders in all seven provinces take their roles seriously.

 

How can provincial leaders help revive Congress?

In a federal set up, provincial lead­ers gradually emerge as national leaders. For example, Indian leader Narendra Modi, who started his political career in Gujarat, ultimate­ly emerged as a national leader and is now the Indian prime minister for the second term. The NC has not thought about leadership-build­ing. No one is thinking about the party’s role at national, provincial and local levels. Provincial parlia­mentary party leaders live in a state of confusion and are uninformed about their roles. Additionally, if Deuba had played a vital role at the center in the initial 8 to 10 months, it would have reenergized pro­vincial and local levels. He could not do so. Thus the NC has also failed to play the role of an effective opposition in provincial and local governments.

 

What are the major roles of the main opposition in a democratic set up?

The first role of an opposition party is to hold the government to account. The parliamentary party leaders should raise the problems faced by people in their day-to-day lives and the issues of the country’s future and prosperity. The parlia­mentary party leader should also activate the role of lawmakers in parliamentary committees, which means making government account­able. There are several examples where the opposition party has not raised its voice strongly.

 

For example, the communist gov­ernment made a time-bound com­mitment on the completion of the Melamchi drinking water project but failed to see it through. The opposition should have vehemently raised this issue, and if necessary, obstructed the parliament. Deuba could have instructed party cadres to stage street protests to expose the real reasons behind the delay. Or he could have spoken about it in the parliament with hard facts and figures.

 

The second role of an opposi­tion party is to make government transparent. The policy decisions of this government, the modality of the budget and its major deals lack transparency. In most other countries cabinet decisions are made public instantly, but our gov­ernment is concealing them. The NC should have strongly protested this. The role of the opposition is to put pressure on government to be transparent in its functioning and decision-making.

 

Third, we have a communist gov­ernment that commands two-thirds votes in the parliament. Its activi­ties suggest it is heading down an authoritarian track. It is the respon­sibility of the NC to prevent the gov­ernment from taking this route.

 

Why is Congress failing on these crucial fronts then?

I think the focus of party president Deuba is not on these issues. Not only Deuba, General Secretary Koi­rala is not paying attention either. Frankly, their focus is not politics. They do not know the roles they are supposed to play in the par­liament and the party. With due respect, Deuba, Shashank and the parliamentary party leaders of all seven provinces have failed to carry out their political roles. Parties in government and opposition have both failed in their political respon­sibility.

 

This is a dark phase in Nepal’s recent political history when the main opposition party lacks effective messengers to inform the people of government wrongdoings. There is a need of an effective communicator who can speak with the people, the media and the international com­munity. NC President Deuba lacks this skill. As an opposition party leader, it is Deuba’s responsibility to convey a strong message on the government’s wrong decisions. Both Deuba and Shashank have failed to play that role.

 

What about their role outside the parliament?

Their roles as party president and general secretary are to inform and to create awareness among cadres. They should instruct cadres and leaders to protest certain govern­ment decisions, to monitor its activ­ities, and highlight people’s general issues. These will in turn expand the party’s support base. To gain public support, the NC should raise the issues that are either being neglect­ed or handled improperly.

 

Has Deuba failed to effectively lead the party?

We cannot put all the blame on Deuba as there are other senior leaders in the party as well. How­ever, Sher Bahadurji is the party’s commander. For example, he did not speak a word about the gov­ernment’s pre-budget policy and program, as if he was in no mood to offer any resistance. It shows the NC is failing to monitor the government closely. To connect with the people, it is necessary to get timely infor­mation on government policies and convey its import to the people. The NC is rather spending all its ener­gy in internal power competition. When the general convention will be held is still uncertain and yet the leaders are already canvassing their districts.

 

It was Deuba’s strategic blunder not to try to prevent the alliance between the two communist forces when the Maoist party was in a coa­lition with him. In the election cam­paign, he tried to build a narrative that if communist forces won, they would impose an authoritarian rule but people did not believe him. He failed to make a strong electoral alli­ance with other fringe parties and to provide organizational as well as ideological leadership to the party. A party never loses an election; it is its leader who does.

 

The leadership who loses steps down; a new leadership comes with new vigor and vision and revamps the party. In the past, the BJP leaders who used to stay in New Delhi made the party weak. It is leaders such as Modi who came from outside Delhi who rebuilt the party. Likewise, Congress leaders who live in com­fort in Kathmandu are running the party and not those who are con­nected to the grassroots.

 

There have long been talks about handing over the NC’s leadership to the younger generation. Why hasn’t that happened?

The party proceeds based on its statute. There should have been a provision in the statute for a special general convention to elect new leadership if the party loses an elec­tion badly. Some countries have such a practice. It is not about who comes to power in the party but about paving the way for a new lead­ership to tackle the new situation. Now, the Congress lacks freshness. Deuba had a golden opportunity to announce a special general con­vention as the party lost the 2017 elections under his leadership. This could have been the first step toward the NC’s revival. Now the process has completely stopped.

 

How do you see the NC’s future leadership?

The party is also a strong bureau­cracy. Some people will try to save Deuba, arguing that the party did not lose due to his leadership. They will indulge in all sorts of legal/illegal, appropriate/inappropri­ate games to save Deuba. Active membership would be distributed accordingly. Sending a message that Deuba is still popular and can lead the party would create unhealthy competition. Another faction will work tirelessly to boot him out. This means the party would be trapped between these two forces. The next general convention will be held as per the wishes of these factions. The leaders and cadres who are genuine and who enjoy public support will gradually distance themselves from party. Unhealthy competition and money-based politics will repel peo­ple with high values and principles.

 

Is there a possibility of handing over party leadership to another generation anytime soon?

Now, there are three factions in the party. The first is a hierarchical faction encompassing leaders who have emerged from a long strug­gle, who have served jail terms and are unceasingly dedicated to the party. This faction is led by Deuba himself. The second Congress is called dynasty Congress or umbrella Congress.

 

This faction is living under the umbrellas of their fathers. At the forefront of dynastic power are lead­ers like General Secretary Shashank Koirala, leader Shekhar Koirala, Bimalendra Nidhi and Prakash Man Singh. This faction draws strength from people’s emotional attachment to their families. The emotion is still saleable and works inside the party.

 

The third faction is republic Con­gress which emerged from the 2006 people’s movement. This faction carries some agendas and their leaders have strong communication skills. This faction has the capacity to drive the 21st century. The cur­rent symbol of republic Congress is Gagan Thapa. Other ascendant leaders in this faction are Pradeep Poudel and Gururaj Ghimire. The republic Congress faction is weak in the party but it is the only force capable of fighting the communists. The hierarchical Congress which fought the Ranas and Rajas cannot fight the communists. The leaders of the dynastic faction never rose up through the ranks; they emerged under the protection of their fathers and think 10 times before ventur­ing out of their comfort zone. The republic Congress has age on its side and its members are under pressure to reform the party for the sake of their own future. The party culture, however, is not republic Congress-friendly. Hierarchy and dynasty still rule the roost.

 

Which faction is likely to win party leadership at the next gen­eral convention?

To win, two factions should come together. No faction can win on its own, no matter who leads it. If the three factions fight separately, there will be give and take after the initial rounds of votes. One thing is clear: the republic Congress alone cannot win party elections.

 

Can you explain why?

The republic Congress has public support and if the party’s active members are allowed to vote direct­ly, its leaders will win party leader­ship. But there is a strong bureau­cratic network in the NC, which is beneficial to hierarchical and dynas­tic politics.

 

Again, I do not think the party led by hierarchical leaders can fight the communists. Dynastic politics is being phased out of South Asia. Hierarchical Congress will feel a shock in the next leadership contest. My prediction is that the republic and dynasty factions will form an alliance, that Shekhar Koirala and Gagan Thapa will come together. This development will lead to frag­mentation in hierarchical Congress. After one general convention, Gagan will lead this faction. But this time, there is an emotional wave in the NC that after Deuba’s failure, the party again needs a Koirala leadership. It would not be a surprise if the leader­ship goes back to the Koirala family for emotional reasons.

 

So you think it’ll be a while before Congress emerges as a force that can effectively chal­lenge the powerful communists?

As per the NC statute, the gen­eral convention should take place within a year. But this won’t be pos­sible. The party’s position in the next election is a separate question. Soon after the convention, there will be local elections. Without set­tlement of intra-party disputes in the convention, the party will again struggle to win any election. Hence it is Deuba’s responsibility to hold the convention on time and revive the party.