Koirala begins exercise to consolidate his strength

Kathmandu, January 25

While Nepali Congress senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction has launched an aggressive election campaign for the party’s upcoming general convention in a bid for party presidency, another faction led by incumbent party president Sushil Koirala has begun efforts to consolidate its strength to retain its current position.

In an informal meeting called by Koirala at his residence in Maharajgunj this evening, he expressed his desire to keep his section’s strength intact before deciding who should contest for the party president’s post in the NGC to be held from March 3-6 in Kathmandu, said sources.

“Let’s not divide now and instead make our side stronger as the party’s local conventions are going to be held soon. If we are divided, it will only weaken our position,” Koirala told the meeting.

When leader Ram Chandra Paudel expressed his interest for the post, Koirala suggested to him to make united efforts to keep the faction’s unity intact first.

“First, let’s make our position stronger, then we can take decision on how manage the party’s positions by holding another round of meeting by the first week of February,” a Central Working Committee member quoted Koirala as saying at the meeting.

Koirala also entrusted the leaders from his side with securing maximum support of NGC representatives to be elected from the party’s subordinate chapters.

As per today’s consultations, leaders, including Paudel, Prakash Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Dilendra Prasad Badu, Narahari Acharya, Mahesh Acharya, Ram Sharan Mahat, Shekhar Koirala, Sujata Koirala, Minendra Rijal, Padhma Narayan Chaudhari, Ananda Dhungana, Krishna Chandra Nepali and Dil Bahadur Gharti will visit areas under their control and keep the supporters of the establishment side intact, said the sources.

The leaders were mainly concerned about retaining supporters from the Kathmandu Valley and Morang, from where a large section of NGC representatives participate as votes in the NGC, as many influential leaders from these two places have defected to Deuba faction, said sources.

Earlier, the party’s CWC meeting held at the party headquarters in Sanepa, had decided not to allow party president and party’s district presidents to file candidacy for a third term in office.

It will prevent around 18 sitting district party presidents from filing their candidacy in the upcoming NGC.

The CWC decided to allow all active members recognised by the party to participate in the 13th NGC as voters by suspending a provision of the party statute, which allows only the active members who got the membership one year before the upcoming NGC to use their voting rights.

The NC had recognized 470,655 active members recently.

The meeting expressed happiness at the amendment of the new constitution as initiated by the previous NC-led government.

It requested all sides to clear obstructions at Nepal-India border points.