Nepali Congress leader and National Assembly member Krishna Prasad Sitaula has said that the results of the House of Representatives election held last Thursday were unexpected.

Nepali Congress has never received such a crushing defeat since the parliamentary elections held in Nepal since 1991. Though the party holds the second position in overall results, its standing is far behind the Rastriya Swatantra Party’s supermajority.

Speaking with reporters at Singha Durbar on Wednesday, Sitaula said there would be a discussion in the party about its humiliating loss. Out of the 165 seats under the first-past-the-post system, the RSP has bagged 125. The Congress won only 18 seats. The final tally of the proportional representation votes also places the Congress a distant second to the RSP.

Ahead of the March 5 polls, a section of Congress leaders organised a special convention and elected Gagan Thapa their president. Subsequently, a big chunk of the party loyal to Sher Bahadur Deuba was left out of the parliamentary contest. According to multiple Congress leaders, the Deuba faction did not extend its full support to the party candidates.

After the Thapa faction polarised the party for the special general convention, the Election Commission gave its recognition to the new leadership. Against the EC’s decision, the Deuba faction moved the Supreme Court but the final verdict has yet to come.

After the electoral blow, there have been calls from some party leaders that Thapa should resign. In a recent meeting with party vice-president Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Thapa expressed his desire to step down but Sharma urged him not to do so.

The issue of the leadership’s legitimacy is under consideration by the court, Sitaula said. The court will move forward based on the court’s decision, he added, expressing confidence that the internal disputes would be settled with the court verdict.

Sitaula believes that resolving internal disputes will revive the party. “Once the court passes its decision, we will unite and move forward. The party will then revive," he added.

Sitaula is also the leader of the Congress National Assembly parliamentary party.

On Wednesday, after an interaction between the party’s newly elected and sitting members of the National Assembly, Sitaula told the media that the results of the House election surprised them.

He rejected claims that former party officials (close to Deuba) did not support the party's candidates while campaigning.

"We have had such experiences in the past as well. Therefore, Nepali Congress leaders, workers, well-wishers, and those who believe in democracy and democratic governance need not be alarmed. But we must discuss how to approach the new circumstances in a new way."

Congress leader and National Assembly member Jitjung Basnet stated that the purpose of the party's special general convention had ended. Speaking to the media at the Congress parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar, Basnet said that holding the special general convention just before the polls had delivered the party such an outcome.

The party’s unbelievable defeat has rendered the special general convention obsolete, Basnet said. "Now, to revive the Congress, a regular general convention must be held."

Basnet asked Thapa to resign as president on moral grounds. Instead, he was engaging in a "media trial" to avoid resignation, Basnet alleged.