Now the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is reeling from severe intra-party dispute which has obviously put a crimp in the image and performance of the government that has won sweeping mandate in the federal and state elections held in 2017. The NCP-led government has espoused the lofty goal of Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali. The snappy slogan carries the spirit and aspirations of Nepalis who were fed up with chronic political instability for decades. The NCP was created through the unification of two big erstwhile communist forces – CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre – in 2018. The two parties had forged an electoral alliance that clinched a landslide victory in the polls held following the promulgation of new constitution in 2015.

The people have reposed faith in the competence of the NCP government that promised to implement constitution and deliver development and stability to the people. It has, of course, made impressive strides in various fields. The economic growth has been illustrious. For many years, the economic growth used to hover around 4.1 per cent. Last year, it rose to 7.1 per cent. Nepal has achieved 6.5 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It made progress in corruption index with rise of 11 points. It has improved indicators in corruption control, happiness, gender equality and tourism competitiveness. However, these gains were recorded prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the world has gone topsy-turvy with the pandemic. Nepal is now bearing the brunt of its fallout with steep decline in economy, trade, investment and tourism.

The pandemic has upset the apple cart of government. The crisis, triggered by the coronavirus flare-up, can be tackled when the ruling party and government work in tandem. The growing rift within the party sends a negative message to the people. More importantly, the intra-party bickering weakens the government’s confidence to resolve the pressing issues effectively. The party needs to play a creative role in facilitating the government to bring economy back on track. The mutual collaboration and understanding between the party and government creates an enabling atmosphere to implement the government policy and programmes. The party should provide constructive inputs and suggestions to the government but it must not undermine the autonomy of the executive branch of the state. There should be clear boundary line between the jurisdictions of the party and government. Unlike the party, the government has greater responsibility and should act as the guardian of all people.

Against this backdrop, the Central Disciplinary Committee of the NCP has called on the party top brass to sort out the outstanding problems through dialogue at the earliest. According to the new report of this daily, Committee’s chairman Amrit Kumar Bohora stressed for making the party’s platforms more active and stopping to issue misleading statements about party split. It is imperative for the top leaders to abide by the decisions of the Standing Committee meeting held in September this year. Bohora has insisted on convening meeting to find amicable solution to the conflict and finishing the remaining task of party unification at the earliest. The top leaders should rise above the factional politics and refrain themselves from ideological deviation so as to keep the party unity intact and forceful.