Bhairahawa, December 7 Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba today said his party had lost the recent by-election in Pokhara and Dang due to intra-party rift and betrayal by some leaders of the party. He warned of punishing those who had betrayed the party during the election. Speaking at a programme organised by the Nepali Congress Siddhartha Nagar Committee in Bhairahawa, Deuba held that the party would not be able to secure victory in the polls unless betrayers inside the party were punished. “Bidhya Bhattarai might have earned some votes due to sympathy in Kaski-2, but there were no other genuine factors for her victory,” Deuba said, adding, “Some leaders were involved in malicious activities because of which the party lost in the election. The party will investigate and punish them.” Deuba admitted that party leadership might have also committed some mistakes for the NC’s poor performance in the recent election. He pledged to move ahead by rectifying them. He also warned that party leaders would be punished for betraying the party’s candidates in the polls. Nepali Congress parliamentary party Chief Whip Bal Krishna Khand charged that communists were trying to impose totalitarianism in the country. He warned that communist would cease to exist if they tried to meddle with democracy and press freedom.