Personality, wit, charm, charisma. These are among the attributes voters look for in leaders of political parties they are thinking of supporting. That is why, when parties head into elections, they announce the names of their prospective prime minister candidates.
Ahead of the 14th General Convention of Nepali Congress, there were suggestions that the party should select its new leader such that he or she would be capable of taking on a heavyweight like CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli in upcoming elections.
Many in the party were in favor of replacing Sher Bahadur Deuba as party chair after the NC’s humiliating outing in the 2017 elections. Deuba, they reckoned, had lost his mass appeal. In the recent general convention, the likes of Shekhar Koirala, Prakash Man Singh and Bimalendra Nidhi had challenged Deuba for party presidency by making the same argument.
Yet Deuba won the party presidency again—and comfortably. This again ignited a debate if he would be more of a liability rather than an asset heading into elections. But when youth leaders like Gagan Thapa, Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Dhanaraj Gurung, Badri Pandey and Jiwan Pariwar were elected office-bearers, alongside Deuba, many felt the party had already been rebranded.
Says political analyst Geja Sharma Wagle, the victory of Thapa and Sharma as General Secretaries has created excitement not only in the party but also among the masses. “They will be NC’s poster boys in NC’s election campaigns. Many neutrals are likely to vote for Congress because of their presence,” says Wagle.
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Kalyan Gurung, NC Central Working Committee (CWC) member, also reckons the new set of leaders will boost the party’s image during the upcoming elections. “What the general convention also showed is that party representatives from across the country still feel Deuba is best placed to win elections for Nepali Congress,” says Gurung, who had also contested party presidency at the convention.
Even though there is a strong presence of youth leaders in the party’s 15-member officer-bearer team, there are doubts about its effective functioning. Most elected youths are from anti-Deuba camps and they have repeatedly clashed with Deuba on national and party issues.
A senior NC leader requesting anonymity argues the new team under Deuba is better than the previous one. “Deuba can manage election funds while our youth leaders are good orators and visionaries,” he says. But on possible electoral alliance with other parties, Deuba and youth leaders are already at odds. Youth leaders are against any such alliance, while Deuba believes such an alliance is vital to ward off a grand alliance among left parties.
Says NC youth leader and analyst Shankar Tiwari, the presence of young faces as the party’s office-bearers will create a new vibe in the party’s election campaign. “Leaders such as Thapa, Sharma, Dhan Raj Gurung and Badri Pandey can rouse the masses. They are seen as principled politicians as well,” says Tiwari.
Party leaders say Deuba’s re-election does not necessarily mean that he is the only face of NC in the elections. Deuba, who has already become prime minister five times, can still project a new leader as a prime minister to pull voters.
NC has done something similar in the past. For example, in the 1999 parliamentary elections, then party President Girija Prasad Koirala projected Krishna Prasad Bhattarai as future prime minister. The party secured parliamentary majority and Bhattarai became prime minister.
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“To win elections, Deuba should be pushed to project a new face as prime minister,” says Tiwari. Many in and outside NC say Gagan Thapa should be projected as prime minister. But getting Deuba to agree to that arrangement would be nigh-impossible.
Deuba plans on becoming prime minister again if the NC reemerges as the largest party. “In that case, the situation in the party will favor Deuba,” says the aforementioned senior NC leader.
As senior leaders like Ram Chandra Poudel, Prakash Man Singh and Bimalendra Nidhi have already thrown their lot with Deuba, Shekhar Koirala is the only leader who can take on Deuba.
Over the past five years, Thapa has continuously lobbied for Deuba’s removal as party president. But after his election as general secretary, Thapa is in no mood to confront Deuba. Instead, he wants to move ahead by closely working with Deuba.
Says NC leader Gurung: “Deuba, the five-time PM, is a towering personality who has won his parliamentary constituency every time since 1990. His personality will dominate other office-bearers and CWC members.”
Adds Nainsingh Mahar, another Congress CWC member, “Deuba has all the attributes you need to win elections. His first priority will be to keep the party united heading into national elections. He knows a divided party doesn’t win.”
