In Nepali Congress, the position of general secretary is considered the second most powerful after the party president.

Historically, some charismatic leaders have held the position in the country’s grand old party: from Krishna Prasad Bhattarai in the 1950s, to Mahendra Narayan Nidhi, Girija Prasad Koirala, to now the duo of Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma.

When two relatively younger and popular leaders—Thapa and Sharma—got elected as general secretaries in December 2021, they had kindled hope among young Congress members and well-wishers of the party.

But over time, they have failed to implement their agendas as the establishment led by party chief Deuba is dominant.

Political analysts and observers, too, say that Thapa and Sharma have failed to reflect the strength of their popular mandate in the party decision making process.

Prior to its 14th general convention, the party had the provision of one elected general secretary whereas the other was nominated by the party President after the general convention. In the last convention, the party amended its statute and made it mandatory to elect both the general secretaries and other party bearers through voting.

With Thapa and Sharma elected as the Congress general secretaries, they were expected to challenge the septuagenarian party President Sher Bahadur Deuba.

However, as a party insider claims, the general secretary duo themselves are struggling to create their space in party leadership.

This struggle is a testament to the challenges they face in cementing their influence in the Congress, says a party leader.

“The party’s general secretary is usually occupied with official work,” Prakash Sharan Mahat, a Congress spokesperson, told the Post. “How active they are in the party’s internal affairs is not something I can comment on.”

After being elected as the party’s general secretaries, Thapa and Sharma have publicly spoken about being kept in the dark on vital matters. For instance, while speaking at the 42nd BP Memorial programme held on July 20, Thapa said the July 1 agreement between Congress and CPN-UML reached to form a new coalition government came as a surprise.

Purushottam Dahal, a senior journalist close to the Congress, says the two general secretaries didn’t understand their exact role.

“The general secretary’s role is to make the party’s central secretariat functional, but they are trying to be reactionary, which is inappropriate,” Dahal told the Post. “To make the party functional, they should not wait for a green signal from the party president.”

However, General Secretary Sharma rubbishes such a claim.

“There have been some transformative changes in the party after we assumed the role of general secretaries,” Sharma told the Post. “From establishing a library in the party’s central office to holding the BP Koirala Literature Festival, we have made the party more vibrant.”

He argued that what has happened is that the duo have failed to publicise some of their important works.

The general secretaries claim they are facing difficulties because of the party leadership’s working style, but some leaders don’t buy that argument.

Sharma further claims that their work is often hindered by the generational gap with Deuba.

“In addition, both of us general secretaries were elected from different panels during the general convention, which caused some misunderstanding among party leaders,” Sharma said.

But there are other Congress leaders who accuse the general secretaries of suddenly turning risk-averse.

“They are bound by the party statute as the party follows a presidential system where the president prevails over others,” Govinda Pokharel, a newly appointed head of the Economic Policy and Planning Department of the Congress, told the Post. “However, the two general secretaries cannot accommodate all groups in the party, and hence their difficulties.”

According to Pokharel, after becoming the party’s office bearers, they are slowly turning cautious. “Although they have a very popular base and they also have content-based knowledge on development, they are not being able to use their potential.”

Sharma differs.

“We have challenged the party leadership on many issues to establish our agenda,” Sharma said. “At the party’s Mahasamiti meeting in February, we successfully proposed contesting the upcoming election with the party’s own strength… The party's central committee meeting, which will commence on Wednesday, will pass our proposal as it is.”

A Congress leader close to General Secretary Thapa, however, acknowledged that Thapa is sometimes clueless about the party’s functioning.

“From the beginning, the general secretaries have not been able to mobilise the leaders in their fold effectively,” Shankar Tiwari, a Congress youth leader close to Thapa, told the Post. “Sometimes they prevail over the party president, but on many other occasions they are also at his mercy.”

Meanwhile, a few Congress leaders claim that the popularity of the general secretaries duo is diminishing, which could make it difficult for them to elevate themselves in party politics in the coming days.

There are ample examples where Congress leaders lost their revolutionary spirit after becoming general secretary, says the leader.

Only three past general secretaries of Congress have succeeded in becoming party chief and the prime minister. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was the general secretary of the party soon after the establishment of democracy in Nepal in 1950. Likewise, Girija Prasad Koirala, another general secretary during the 1990s, later became the prime minister as well as the party President.

Sushil Koirala was the third general secretary to become party president, and the prime minister.

Jagat Nepal, a long-time Congress observer, says that apart from the prime minister, two of the Congress’s general secretaries have become the country’s President, if not party president and prime minister.

“Ram Baran Yadav, the first President of the country, and Ramchandra Paudel, the current President, both were once the party’s general secretary,” Nepal told the Post. Besides, Taranath Ranabhat, the former general secretary of the party, and Paudel became Speakers of the House of Representatives in the 1990s.

Nepal added that despite not being elevated to the party’s top position, a few former general secretaries of Congress had played an important role in national politics. “We can’t draw a sweeping conclusion that leaders lose their influence after becoming general secretary,” he said.

Apart from the leaders mentioned above, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Prakash Man Singh, Sashank Koirala, and Purna Bahadur Khadka were the few among others who took up the responsibility of the general secretary.

“As far as why they were not able to lift themselves to the top position is concerned, sometimes, despite their personal efficiency, circumstances might not be favourable,” Dahal, the senior journalist, said.

General Secretary Sharma echoes Dahal.

In the past, the party president used to nominate one of the two general secretaries. In such a case, the nominated general secretary would obviously not be able to challenge the party chief, Sharma said.

From the 14th general convention, the party started to elect both general secretaries through voting by party delegates.