What Ails Nepali Congress Now?

Thrown out of power following the formation of a new ruling coalition, the Nepali Congress is seen pursuing every available avenue to destabilise the current ruling alliance. The largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR) has set its sights on Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in an effort to attack the government. Raising the issue of cooperative fund misuse, NC MPs have spoken out against the Home Minister for his possible complicity in the misappropriation, calling for his resignation. 

They have also disrupted House proceedings, seeking an explanation from the Prime Minister on the matter. So far, the PM has made no indication that he will respond to Congress's demand. The Congress is attempting to break the new coalition after losing its footing in the ruling partnership and losing the opportunity to lead the government for two years, as agreed earlier. Some claim that in an attempt to split the alliance, the Congress even proposed the prime ministerial chair to both RSP chair Lamichhane and CPN-Unified Socialist chief Madhav Kumar Nepal. However, both ignored this and joined the current coalition led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda. 

Desperate attempt

In its desperate attempt to stop Prachanda from continuing in power, the largest party even requested that the UML, the second largest party, join forces with it so that the two could rule the country alternately for their remaining tenure. After suffering 'betrayal from the Maoist Centre, the NC argued it is time for the two major parties to stop being manipulated by the party that currently ranks distant third in terms of the number of members of the House, and it is time to accept the people's mandate: to rule the nation by the two parties with the most votes. The UML, however, preferred the Maoist Centre to Congress, which concerned the largest party. To strengthen the present alliance, UML chair KP Sharma Oli even requested that his archrival, Unified Socialist chair Nepal, become Prime Minister on a rotational basis, which the latter agreed to. 

Clearly, after failing in its objective, Congress members have started piling pressure on and causing difficulty for the current ruling alliance by raising topics that have recently gained national attention. Aside from targeting the Home Minister for his alleged misuse of cooperative funds, the party has also brought up the Maoist Centre's unexpected partnership with the UML and four other parties, which it termed a dishonest act on the part of the Maoist Centre chair, who orchestrated the Congress' unceremonious exit from the government. The Congressmen accused him of working secretary for a new alliance even when he was leading a coalition in which the NC was a significant component. 

Without a doubt, the NC is doing everything possible to break the current ruling alliance, for which it is ready to offer the prime minister’s post to other parties. The Congressmen felt the Maoist Centre chair cheated them for the second time in 15 months following the general elections held in November 2022. However, the PM had alleged the Congress ministers in his government had overlooked him and his requests, forcing him to change his coalition. 

Following their unexpected departure from power, Congress leaders are pondering over the advantages and disadvantages of this ouster. For many Congress supporters, one positive outcome of the exit has been that rival groups inside the parties have gathered to discuss the future of the Nepali Congress in light of the new coalition among key communist parties. Many of them appear to have buried their hatchets because they see the new communist alliance as a threat to the NC's very survival. 

Members of the Shekhar Koirala group have stopped criticising their president. Instead, they have condemned the Maoist Centre chair. Youth leaders Gagan Thapa, Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Pradip Paudel, and others have stopped speaking harshly about the party establishment. The surprise exit has given them some space to reflect on the Congress's future and its role in national politics. Some Congress officials have claimed that Nepal's 'oldest democratic party' should not collaborate with a communist party. Another group of supporters believes that the Nepali Congress, which prides itself on being the oldest democratic party and has been at the forefront of all democratic struggles, should work to bring parties that believe in democratic values and spirits into the fold rather than collaborating with communist parties. 

NC's stance 

Many even chastised the Congress leadership for failing to rope in the support of the RSP and Prajatantra Party, both of whom hold non-communist views, immediately after the Maoist chair changed his coalition. If it had received these parties' support in time, the situation would have been different. As events unfolded, the Congress is now 'forced' to attack RSP chair and Home Minister, which is likely to further alienate Lamichhane from the NC. 

Finally, even it is engaged in all ploys to destablise the current coalition government, the Nepali Congress has no option but to adopt a 'wait and see' stance. It is hoping that the UML will change its track in due time and join forces with it so that the two largest parties in the current parliament can form a future government and push the Maoists out of political reckoning, which appears to be difficult given the Maoist Centre chair's influence on the new coalition. If the current ruling communist parties decide to give continuity to their alliance until the next election in 2027, the Nepali Congress may suffer even more because communist votes in the country are more than that of the Congress and other non-communist parties. This fact might have also riled the largest party, now condemned to the opposition bench. 

(Upadhyay is former managing editor of this daily.)