NC's Third Split

Nepal Congress (NC), the oldest democratic party, has split after fierce intra-party bickering over the leadership culminated on Wednesday.  The establishment faction that holds full control of the party's Central Working Committee expelled two general secretaries, Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma, and joint general secretary Farmullah Mansoor, ahead of the election of Thapa as the new president from its Special General Convention. Their party membership has been invalidated for five years, accusing them of breaching the party statute and acting against the organisational discipline.  This is the third time the NC has suffered a vertical division that will not only deal a severe blow to its organisational strength but also cast a pall over the country's fragile political balance, maintained in the aftermath of the Gen Z revolt in September last year.   

The NC was first split in 1953, owing to the wrangling between Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and Matrika Prasad Koirala. The second division took place in 2002 as the then-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba dissolved the House of Representatives and called elections in the wake of surging Maoist insurgency. That time, late Girija Prasad Koirala was the party chief and Deuba was leading the anti-establishment faction. Interestingly, in the third split, Deuba held the reins of the party and Thapa emerged as the rebel leader determined to steer the party in the spirit of the Gen Z movement that demanded corruption control, good governance, stability and economic prosperity.

The establishment took action against Thapa, Sharma and Mansoor, apparently for organising the Special General Convention, which was attended by more than 56 per cent of delegates of its 14th convention that picked Deuba for the second term in 2021. The Deuba-led central committee refused to recognise the Special General Convention, which was earlier demanded by 54 per cent of representatives. It was the second Special Convention of NC. The first one, held in Biratnagar in May 1957, elected BP Koirala as its president. Two years earlier, Subarna Shumsher was elected as president at the party's 6th general convention, but he was satisfied to be treasurer at the Special Convention, which proved historic as it united several factions, paving the way for the party's landslide victory in the country's first general election held in 1959.

 However, the second Special Convention, organised at a critical juncture, took a different course. The divided NC functionaries are now staring at the upcoming general elections with disappointment. Meanwhile, it has formed a 166-member Central Working Committee, with 13 office-bearers. Upon his election as the party head, Thapa said that the party would work to ensure citizens know that the NC is there for them in difficult times. However, the road ahead is full of bumps for Thapa. He has to justify the relevance of the special convention at the grassroots and lead the party in the upcoming polls slated for March this year.

Now, two parallel central committees will fight for their legitimacy. Both groups have already informed the Election Commission (EC) to grant legal status to them. The Deuba-led faction has claimed that the central working committee has expelled Thapa and Sharma from the party. Countering this, Thapa argued that the Special Convention has already dissolved the central committee, so its decision has become null and void. Whichever the EC recognises, the issue will land in the Supreme Court to settle the dispute of high political significance. Above all, the split in a political party like NC, which has led all the democratic movements since 1950, is sure to affect not only the national politics but also the federal republic system.