It is nearly six months since the convening of the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly, but the Congress has not elected its parliamentary leader, whereas other political parties, including communist ones, have duly chosen their leader and deputy leader in the CA. Some of the high-profile second-generation leaders had been hoping for the blessings of party president Girija Prasad Koirala to clinch the post, and indeed they had started lobbying in an attempt to outsmart their rivals. But when Koirala said that he himself was the Congress PP leader, asking whether there was anybody to challenge him. None stood up. In any political party that claims to be democratically run, democratic process prevails, but once the leader is duly elected, the entire party tends to throw its weight behind him.

Over the mode of electing deputy parliamentary leader, Koirala has taken the stance that once the parliamentary leader chooses his deputy, the PP should have no veto over the decision. A sharp row ensued among Congress CA members over the issue. This sticking point held up the passage of the Congress parliamentary party’s statute on Monday, leading to the postponement of its meeting until December 8. Three strands of opinion came up. One has it that the PP leader picks up deputy leader subject to ratification by the PP. This idea is contained in the proposed amendment to the PP statute. According to others, the deputy leader, like the leader, should be elected too. Koirala and his supporters are reported to have argued that election of deputy leader would encourage factionalism and affect party unity. When the NC PP was requested by the Constitutional Council secretariat to give the name of Congress PP leader, it was intimated that, pending other arrangements, Koirala was the leader.

The Nepali Congress believes in multiparty democracy, and for the sake of it, it has played a leading role in movements for democracy in the country. There is no doubt about it. However, its internal functioning has been such as to give many people the impression that, contrary to its professions of democratic norms and values, Congress leadership has been characterised by a feudal mindset. This is, at least in part, due to the fact that Congress president has had vast powers, and the party’s central working committee (CWC) has been more or less toothless. Even today, after the post-1990 reform, about half the CWC members are picked by president. The Congress faces tough challenges ahead, and if it is to serve as a beacon of democracy, it should first keep its house in order by democratising its decision-making process. Koirala has serious weaknesses on this score. But other senior leaders who are aspiring to the top posts of the PP and the party as a whole are also to blame, because they have seemed unable to stand on their own and carry the party with them. They cannot hope to lead the Congress to success in future by wanting to stand on the stilts provided by somebody else. Leadership is something to be earned in any democratic party worth the name, not to be bequeathed.