By Our Reporter
Key three political parties are now busy holding the national convention to elect the new party leadership. While UML has already concluded its national convention in Chitwan by reelecting KP Sharma Oli as its chairman and the RPP has begun its national convention in Kathmandu. Nepali Congress is holding its 14th national convention in 12 days and Maoist-Centre next month.
However, the national convention is centred on grasping and consolidating power by the leadership rather than discussing the pertinent issues of the country. The leaders who are willing to reach power resort to undemocratic ways to grasp power. It was evident from the UML convention, which did not discuss the national issues, but centred on making party chair KP Sharma Oli more powerful in the party. It lacked democratic exercises which it was following since 1998. The convention held elected office bearers and made an amendment to the party statue as desired by party chair Oli. Election, the most democratic exercise to elect leadership, was prohibited till the last moment when Bhim Rawal insisted on fighting for the post of party chairman. Though the elections were held, they were guided by Oli, as a result, the leaders who abided by his instructions, won others lost.
The lower level conventions of the Nepali Congress though were held in an undemocratic manner, power and money were misused in many places. Police were mobilised to bring the results in favour of those in the party establishment camp. The issue of Dadeldhura, where the convention was held in police presence, will continue to haunt party president Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Dr. Shekhar Koirala has strongly criticized Prime Minister Deuba and Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand for unnecessarily mobilizing the police to bring the convention results in their favour.
Deuba has been applying every measure to get reelected while the rival faction led by Ram Chandra Paudel is also resorting to different measures to unseat Deuba. But no faction is ready to float new ideas for national development and to address the people’s problems.
The situation in RPP and the Maoist Centre is no different. In RPP, Kamal Thapa wants to get reelected and in the Maoist Centre, Pushpa Kamal Dahal wants to consolidate his power.
Of course, in the national convention that is organised every four or five years, the parties should have discussed the development models for the nation, ways to free the country from poverty and corruption. But nothing much happens. Instead, the corrupt leaders themselves dominate the conventions and get reelected.
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