Kathmandu, Nepal, January 3, 2023: The Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR), is holding its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting on January 6 to review the recent election and discuss contemporary political developments amid the widening differences among the rival faction of the party.
As this is the first meeting after Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal became the prime minister after breaking alliance with the NC led five party alliances, it is widely believed that the meeting would concentrate over the issue of failing to continue the alliance to form new government.
The dissident faction of the party has been raising question of performance of the party leadership for breaking the alliance with the Maoist Center. Some leaders of the dissident faction have already demanded Sher Bahadur Deuba’s resignation from both the posts of party president and Parliamentary Party (PP) leaders for failing to keep intact the alliance made before the November 20 elections.
It is being feared that the long being prevailed factional division in the party would visibly be persisted again making the party weaker even to execute the role as main opposition in the HoR. It is said that the possible role of the NC to make attempt to fail the vote of confidence to the Maoist Chair Dahal led government is overshadowed due to the internal differences.
As the NC is limited in the main opposition despite being elected as the largest party after its former coalition partner CPN Maoist Center joined hands with the second largest party, UML, to form government under its chairman Dahal’s leadership, it is widely believed that the NC would work to break the alliance either taking confidence the UML or other fringe parties aligned in the incumbent government.
The NC would get chance to form a new government in the capacity of the largest party in the HoR even if the government failed to secure majority of votes while taking vote of confidence, which is scheduled for January 10.
The party’s rank and file was frustrated over loss of opportunity to form the government despite the party winning the largest number of seats in the HoR. However, neither the establishment faction led by party president Deuba nor the dissident faction led by Shekhar Koirala have taken initiation to break the incumbent alliance by failing the scheduled vote of confidence motion of the government.
Taking the frustration for failing to form new government under NC’s leadership as natural, the general secretary duo-Gagan Thapa and Bishow Prakash Sharma have given emphasis to stay in the opposition rather forming government in this situation.
Issuing a joint statement recently, general secretary duo had stated as ‘Now we have responsibility to introspect and admit our mistakes before preparing a blueprint for the future,’ adding ‘we can say with high moral ground that we are not a party that fought elections as one alliance partner and left the alliance after election to join hands with other parties.’
‘The party rank and file needed to change the present situation to a new opportunity to help the NC achieve its purification and renaissance,’ the general secretary duo had stated underlying the need of playing the role of a strong opposition in the Parliament.
