The Nepali Congress (NC) suffered its worst defeat in the recently held elections. In Nepal’s first ever vote held in 1959, the NC had secured a two-thirds majority by winning 74 out of the 109 seats in Parliament. During the 1991 election, it had a workable majority. In 1999, it regained a majority after having lost to the CPN-UML in the 1994 snap polls by the slightest of margins.

During the first Constituent Assembly election in 2008, the NC became the second largest party after the Maoists. The second Constituent Assembly election in 2013 saw the NC take the first position. The House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections were a disaster for the NC, the only saving grace being a respectable showing in the Proportional Representation election. During the local elections held earlier too, the NC had put up a lacklustre performance.

A leader with vision

There is no one reason for the NC’s defeat. The major causes are loss of its strategic position of political centrism, falling respect for the rule of law and marginal stance on issues of national importance. When the NC was formed in 1950, its sole purpose was to end the feudal Rana rule and work for the noble cause of social justice in a democratic dispensation. The NC has discharged its domestic and external responsibilities with confidence and pride in the past. It has led all major revolutions in the country’s history, and most recently, worked to restore peace by mainstreaming the Maoists.

The NC’s confidence and strength comes from its ideological underpinnings. The philosophy of democratic socialism, which has been the core ideological basis of the NC since 1956, was initially based on centre-left politics. In the beginning, it even advocated a ‘land to the tiller’ programme. Later, it followed the policy of political centrism. In the socio-political process, the bigger the share of centrism—also known as the golden mean—the greater the stability.

In recent times, the NC’s guiding principle has been in the doldrums. In response to the formation of the Left Alliance prior to the election, it entered into an alliance with the rightists in the name of broader democratic alliance. And when the country was in dire need of conciliatory politics, it was swayed by the politics of hostility. During the election campaign too, instead of attracting voters with its visionary platform, it concentrated only on condemning the Left Alliance. The NC forgot that both the constituents of the Left Alliance had been mainstreamed into democratic politics due to its political philosophy of parliamentary multiparty democracy and the existence of the Crown.

Taking advantage of the NC’s deviations and marginal approach with regard to issues of national importance, the utilitarian leftists and radical regional elements, espousing the cause of identity based nationalism, have seized the opportunity to squeeze the political base of the country’s centrist force in the hills, mountains and plains. As a result, the Left Alliance has mustered a comfortable majority in the elections while regional elements too have gained a significant foothold in their areas.

One likely scenario is that these triumphant forces might go head to head with one another over the issue of amending or implementing the constitution. This issue is likely to arrest the nation’s attention after Parliament is convened. If one goes by the statements of regional leaders and the Left Alliance, the former support amendment while the principle constituent of the Left Alliance, the UML, favours implementation.

In this situation, the possibility of the Maoists supporting Tarai voices cannot be ruled out. The UML knows very well that amending the constitution in accordance with the sentiments of the Tarai leaders means losing their support base, consolidated by the recent election results, among the hill and mountain ethnicities. On the other hand, if the Left Alliance rejects amending the constitution, it could spark violent agitations in the plains. If the NC is still unprepared to deal with either of the two possible scenarios, its support base is bound to shrink further.

The middle path

Hence, in the face of the present adverse political environment, the NC leadership, instead of being swayed by the motive of the Left Alliance in favour of polarised politics, needs to perform some strategic tasks. The first task is bringing back political centrism, or the golden mean. The golden mean will help extricate the country from growing political polarisation. In the least developed countries, political polarisation generally leads to hostile camps, and Nepal may not be an exception to the phenomenon. An important result of the golden mean is stability which will be beneficial to the neighbourhood as well.

The second task is management of intraparty feuds. A solution to the current atmosphere of dissatisfaction in the NC is essential, and it might help to address the primary challenge too. The final lesson for the NC is rejuvenating its frail organisational network. It is indeed a pity that the grand old party is in utter organisational disarray when the country is being confronted by several challenges of national significance.

Last but not least, the restoration of political centrism is critical for the NC and its future. To this end, it needs to correct its current centre-right tilt. Given the country’s mood for transformation and realignment, the NC should convert itself into a radical or ultra-centrist force and strictly adhere to the ideals of democracy and pursue a pragmatic, progressive and nationalist agenda. Simultaneously, in view of the country’s constitutional and strategic institutions being politicised and in a state of anomie or redundancy, the NC must make a call for fundamental reform and also work for legal and constitutional measures to eliminate deviant behaviour. If the NC fails to understand these responsibilities, its popular base will continue to evaporate.

Chalise is a former Ambassador of Nepal to the USA and UK