• NC PARLIAMENTARY PARTY POLL
KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 20
Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa, who is from the Shekhar Koirala faction of the party, became the only opponent to NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba in the contest for the parliamentary party leader.
The NC will elect its parliamentary party leader tomorrow. Of the seven national political parties, the NC is the only party that will have to hold election to choose its parliamentary party leader. Other parties decided on their PP leader unanimously.
NC leader Shekhar Koirala, who had initially expressed desire to contest the parliamentary party leader's post, finally supported Thapa, becoming the proposer of Thapa's candidacy. NC Vice-president Dhanraj Gurung, General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma, and another young leader Pradip Paudel have also supported Thapa's candidacy.
Pradip Paudel's entry into the Koirala-Thapa camp is a matter of surprise for many as he had contested the general secretary's post in the last national convention siding with Deuba.
After a series of meetings between the Koirala-faction leaders, Koirala agreed to back Thapa, a popular leader among young voters.
Senior NC leader Ramchandra Paudel, meanwhile, proposed Deuba's candidacy.
NC Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka, Shashank Koirala, Prakash Man Singh, and Bimalendra Nidhi have also backed Deuba, who commands majority in the party and among the newly elected party lawmakers.
The NC has emerged as the largest party in the 275-member House of Representatives with 89 seats.
The elections will take place at 8:00am tomorrow.
During the election campaign for the November 20 polls, Thapa had said that he wanted to become the party's prime ministerial candidate.
Thapa is well remembered for his fiery speech against former king Gyanendra's takeover in 2005 and in support of republican order.
After filing his nomination, Thapa told mediapersons that he expected NC lawmakers to represent voters' wishes and their aspirations.
He said voters expected NC lawmakers to ensure good governance. "I hope NC lawmakers will hear the voice of their conscience tomorrow and cast their votes freeing themselves from all constraints," Thapa added.
He said his candidacy was for bringing political stability in the country and change in the party.
Thapa urged Deuba to withdraw from the race. "NC has led the government several times, but other than the NC-led government in 1960, no other NC government has earned people's respect for its performance," Thapa said.
Deuba's loyalists Khadka and Mahat said that while there were able candidates in the party to contest the post of the parliamentary party leader, Deuba was the best bet to keep the coalition intact, to induct more parties into the coalition's fold, and to resolve political problems.
Khadka said the NC PP leader should be a person acceptable to other political parties and leaders as well. Other national parties chose their PP leaders unanimously.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 21, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
