By Our Reporter
Amidst uncertainty, Nepali Congress has further deferred its 14th general convention, which was to begin on Friday.
A meeting of the party’s central committee on Wednesday, just two days before the general convention was to begin, decided to postpone the general convention for August.
While the faction led by Ram Chandra Paudel was exerting party president to hold the convention in time, party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has already extended his term by a year, was not willing to hold it because of his diminishing popularity in the party because of his controversial decisions, which culminated in a humiliating defeat of the party in the previous general elections.
This time the COVID-19 pandemic and dispute in three districts came as a big excuse for Deuba to postpone the convention again. Now when the country is passing through political uncertainty because of the unconstitutional dissolution of the House of Representatives, Deuba is likely to benefit the most from this. If elections are held on the scheduled dates, NC is likely to emerge as the biggest party, if not it wins a majority, when the NCP has been divided into three factions and as party president, he will become the prime minister. Contesting elections while in power will be easy for him to win the post of party president. However, if elections are not held in May, he is sure to suffer defeat in the party because he has been indirectly supporting the move of Prime Minister Oli although officially the party has termed dissolution as unconstitutional and undemocratic.
If the House is reinstated, Deuba is also likely to become new PM because both factions of warring NCP will support him instead of supporting the leader of the rival faction for the post. And if that happens, it will be easy for Deuba to hold and face the general convention of the party.
But in case Deuba fails to become PM, he is sure to lose his grip on the party. Moreover, if the NC becomes unable to hold its convention in August, the party will lose its legitimacy.
NC denies launching joint agitation against Oli’s unconstitutional move
The Nepali Congress has made it clear that the party would not launch a joint agitation with Dahal-Nepal faction of the Nepal Communist Party. Earlier, only party president Sher Bahadur Deuba was opposing the idea of launching a joint agitation against the House dissolution. Now party general secretary Shashank Koirala has made similar expression.
Koirala said joint agitation would not benefit Nepali Congress. Speaking in Dang and Nawalparasi this week, Koirala said that the party would accept the Supreme Court verdict and would not launch joint agitation with Dahal-Nepal faction.
Meanwhile, party president Sher Bahadur Deuba has accused the Election Commission (EC) of not moving ahead with its preparations for the elections.
Addressing a protest organised by the party in Bhairahawa on Monday, Deuba criticised the Election Commission’s failure to prepare for the upcoming elections scheduled for April and May.
Stating that the Supreme Court had not stopped it from working, Deuba urged the Commission to start preparations as soon as possible.
Deuba lamented that the rift in the Nepal Communist Party had divided leaders and cadres in the NC. “We have no stake in their internal conflict. Yet, our members have been divided with some supporting Oli and others Dahal.
However, party senior leader Ramchandra Paudel stressed agitation. Speaking in Dhading, he said that the first responsibility of the party was to safeguard the Constitution and that though NC would benefit from the upcoming election, it was bound by its duty of reinstating the dissolved House of Representatives (HoR).
He accused the Prime Minister of losing judiciousness due to intoxication of power and lack of understanding of the essence of the constitution.
NC leaders Prakash Man Singh, Krishna Sitaula, Gagan Thapa, Dhanraj Gurung are in favour of a joint struggle against the dissolution.
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