Miscellaneous
Koirala camp infighting could give Deuba edge
Village level conventions of the Nepali Congress (NC) held on Friday and Saturday, in the run-up to the party’s general convention scheduled for March, saw serious competition between the camps led by incumbent party President Sushil Koirala and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba.Village level conventions of the Nepali Congress (NC) held on Friday and Saturday, in the run-up to the party’s general convention scheduled for March, saw serious competition between the camps led by incumbent party President Sushil Koirala and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba. But what was quite conspicuous at the local level was: leaders from the Koirala camp were seen pitted against each other, which could be cause for concern for the establishment faction.
According to observers, if the infighting trend in the Koirala camp continues to the district level, it could benefit the Deuba faction while electing general convention representatives.
Party Vice-President Ram Chandra Poudel’s decision to throw his hat in the ring for the party presidency could also make things complicated for Koirala, as votes of the Koirala camp will be divided between Koirala and Poudel.
And add Sujata Koirala and Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who are crucial pillars of the establishment faction, to Koirala’s list of worries, as they too have announced candidacy for the post of party president.
It is not immediately clear how this will affect the total number of delegates that will be elected from the Koirala camp. Until now the Deuba camp has 40 percent hold in party organisations and the Koirala camp controls 60 percent. But the way things are expected to play out, this convention may tilt the balance.
Jhapa, Morang, Kavre, Nuwakot districts, which typically send more delegates, are some examples where leaders from the establishment camp clashed with each other. “We have observed this tendency across the country, and I am not sure how the establishment camp plans to tackle this issue,” said NC leader Gagan Thapa.
The village level conventions, along with conventions in the municipalities and districts, elect the electoral constituency representatives, which in turn would elect 3,000 general convention representatives who will then vote for key party positions, including the party president.
- 470,000: Number of active members
- 3,000-3,200: Number of representatives
- Feb 8: Date by when representatives will be selected
- March 3-7: Dates for the 13th general convention