The second-rung leaders of the Nepali Congress including general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Parkash Sharma have stood against almost all major political decisions taken by party president Sher Bahadur Deuba in the past one year. Yet they failed to build much pressure on Deuba and the establishment faction, let alone force the party chief to review any of his decisions. This kind of powerlessness was not expected of the general secretaries who were elected just over a year ago with a good number of votes from the party’s general convention.

Both the general secretaries and another leader Dhan Raj Gurung, who was elected vice-president of the party, were against forming an alliance with the CPN (Maoist Centre) and other parties in the local polls in May 2022. But party president Deuba pressed ahead and partnered with several parties including the Maoist Centre. Deuba and the party establishment decided to continue the alliance with the same parties in the provincial and federal elections. General secretaries Thapa and Sharma, Vice-president Gurung and several other leaders from the party’s dissident faction made a big hue and cry of the decision and said the Congress should contest the polls alone. But Deuba ignored them and prevailed on.

Then, in the last week of December, Deuba’s ally Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist Centre chief, made a U-turn and joined hands with CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, who helped Dahal become prime minister. Dahal’s decision was prompted by Deuba’s refusal to cede the premiership to Dahal.

When Dahal sought Congress’ vote of confidence this week, both the general secretaries, vice-president Gurung, as well as other second-rung leaders, were strongly against supporting Dahal. They said Congress should vote against and play the role of a strong and constructive opposition in Parliament. But again, Deuba decided to give Dahal the vote of trust.

Some leaders have even accused the second-rung leaders of raising their voices just for media consumption.

However, political science professor Krishna Khanal asserts that given the organisational structure of the grand old party, party president Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to prevail. That is also the reason, Khanal says, the differing views of party general secretaries could not change the party’s stance. As things stand, Deuba has a strong grip on both the Congress central committee and the parliamentary party.

“When it came to giving Prime Minister Dahal the vote of confidence, the Congress general secretaries, as well as other leaders who differed with the party leadership, could have chosen to abstain from voting even by defying the whip,” professor Khanal told the Post. “By acquiescing to the party whip, they opened themselves to accusations of double standards.”

General Secretary Thapa, however, said that he had proposed at the party’s meeting that he and other dissidents should be allowed to abstain from voting in favour of the Dahal government, but Deuba would not allow that. “There are such practices in other countries as well,” Thapa told the Post. “I even discussed it with some constitutional experts like Bipin Adhikari, but the party president prevented us from abstaining from voting.”

Adhikari also confirmed having discussed the issue with Thapa.

Bhishmaraj Angdambe, a joint general secretary of the party, said it would be wrong to infer that the party’s general secretaries had become ineffective. “Although there may be disagreements within the party, it is a good thing for the party to show a united face in public,” Angdambe told the Post.

Puranjan Acharya, a political analyst affiliated to the Congress, concurred with Khanal on the trust vote. “Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Parkash Sharma, along with other youth leaders, should have refrained from voting for Prime Minister Dahal,” said Acharya.

But, according to another Congress youth leader, Shankar Tiwari, who is close to General Secretary Thapa, even if you have a different opinion, you cannot overrule the party whip.

“Since the party ignored the dissenting views of some Congress leaders including the general secretaries, they were not permitted to abstain from voting on the motion in Parliament,” Tiwari said. “Had they defied the party whip, that would have set a bad precedent.”

General secretaries Thapa and Sharma as well as leaders Pradip Paudel, Arjun Narsingh KC, Prakash Man Singh and Bal Bahadur KC had registered their differing views in the party committee, when the party decided to give a vote of confidence to Dahal in the parliament on Tuesday.

With the support of the Congress as well as other parties including the UML, Dahal garnered 268 votes in the 275-strong House of Representatives.

The Congress leadership drew widespread criticism for failing in its duty as the main opposition.

Professor Khanal suggests that young leaders should collectively put pressure on party chief Deuba.

Thapa and Sharma, and another youth leader Pradip Poudel, who opposed the party decision to support Prime Minister Dahal on Tuesday, were on the same page while countering the party chief Deuba in the party’s parliamentary leadership election on December 21.

The three youth leaders who competed for the post of general secretary at the 14th general convention of the party held in 2021 from different panels nonetheless had come together when Sharma and Paudel supported Thapa’s bid for parliamentary party leader.

Thapa ran for general secretary from the Shekhar Koirala faction, while Sharma ran from the faction led by Prakash Man Singh, and Paudel contested from Deuba’s side with the backing of leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula. Thapa and Sharma won, while Paudel lost.

“There is little chance of them coming together to run a separate faction,” Acharya said. “But they could still band together on issues of common interest.”

Sharma, the other general secretary, agreed with Acharya.

“Yes, we have come together in some instances like while supporting Gagan Thapa in the election for the parliamentary party leadership,” General Secretary Sharma told the Post. “However, it should not be assumed that we are likely to come together on all issues.”

Youth leader Paudel too is against forming rigid camps. “Party functionaries should not be cocooned in camps,” Paudel told the Post.