NC Mahasamiti members have their say

Nepali Congress meeting Mahasamiti is underway in Kathmandu which is deliberating the documents presented by Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka and general secretaries duo Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma. In this context, Dilip Karki spoke with the Mahasamiti members about the recent demands inside the party that Nepal be declared as a Hindu state. 

Bishwa Prakash Sharma

This coalition represents a challenging journey of political parties with different ideologies. After the dissolution of the previous House of Representatives, the parties formed the coalition to protect the Parliament and the Constitution, and continued it through the general election as well as to form a government. Despite the fact that our backgrounds and ideological lines are different, the pre-poll alliance did achieve some successes. However, new challenges and dissatisfaction have also surfaced. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to discuss the electoral alliance four years before the election. An appropriate decision will be taken at an appropriate time on whether to form an alliance in the upcoming elections or to field NC candidates in all seats of all three tiers of government.

In his organizational report presented at the Mahasamiti meeting, General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has termed the pre-poll coalition politics a strategic issue and situational compulsion necessitated by special circumstances. He has stated that the party cadres have understood this coalition as an erosion of party ideology and are dissatisfied with the party. We need to educate party workers that the alliance had to be formed due to the circumstances created by the special political event and it is not a regular political event.

Bahadur Singh Thapa

This coalition should be continued for the tenure of this Parliament. We should understand that this coalition had to be formed to reinstate the dissolved parliament and to protect the constitution. A discussion has begun in the party about whether we need to form a coalition for the next election. I think we shouldn't make any decision in haste as there is a lot of time until the next election. It would be very good if we are in a position to contest the election single-handedly. But various strategies are formed in the election. Any decision about whether to form a coalition should be based on these strategies. Voices that the party should contest in the election independently are rising in the party.

Jip Chhiring Lama

There is no need to rush into the issue of whether to form a coalition as we still have four years until the next election. This is not an issue that we should be discussing now. The Mahasamiti meeting should create a blueprint for the prosperity of the country and strengthen party organization. Since forming an electoral coalition is a strategic issue, we can’t decide now what should be done.

Bhupendra Jung Shahi

Voices are rising in the party that the party shouldn't form an electoral alliance. Those who created this situation should be held responsible for this. This voice means that Nepali Congress is the largest party in the parliament and CPN (Maoist Center) with 32 seats should exit the government. I believe it was wrong to form this coalition. The coalition has weakened the party. The Mahasamiti meeting will take the necessary decision to strengthen the party.

Parbati Acharya

Coalition should be formed after confirming its justification on the basis of geography. In the past, our workers had to vote for candidates of other parties even in constituencies where NC was strong. It was an injustice to party leaders as the coalition created a situation where they couldn’t get a ticket to contest. Therefore, the coalition should be based on the need and the situation. I don't believe we shouldn’t say no to the coalition now as proposed by the General Secretary. Our performance was poor in 2017 when we contested single-handedly, while we became the largest party by forming a coalition in 2022.

Bilochan Chaudhary

All party leaders and cadres aspire to participate in the election on behalf of the party. Many friends, who have made a long contribution to the party, were deprived of opportunities in the election due to the coalition. This weakened the party. Therefore, the party should decide it won’t enter into any coalition and work to strengthen party organization from the lowest level.

Dinesh Rai

We had long been saying that the party shouldn’t enter into any electoral alliance. We fully support the general secretary’s proposal that NC should clearly state that it won’t form any electoral alliance. Even if we are to continue this alliance till the full term of this parliament, the party shouldn’t enter into other alliances.

Usha Raut

The general secretary’s proposal regarding electoral alliance is populist. He was prepared to become a minister in the government formed by the alliance that NC formed before the election. I don’t understand why he is rushing with this because the election is still four years away.