The Nepali Congress has taken action against 18 lower committee leaders on charges of breaching discipline by betraying the party’s official candidates during the November 2022 general elections.

Two years and seven months after the federal and provincial elections, the largest party in the House of Representatives on Wednesday decided to suspend or expel them from committees for a year, as recommended by the party’s disciplinary committee.

The recommendation was made after a series of meetings held by the committee between June 23 and July 1. A day later, on Thursday, the party also took disciplinary action against 26 more individuals for undermining official decisions and failing to cooperate with the party’s official candidates in the same election.

The disciplinary committee issued formal warnings to these 26 individuals after an investigation.

As per the party’s statute, members may be suspended for up to a year and expelled for up to five years for violating party discipline. The statute also mandates that any individual facing disciplinary action must first be granted an opportunity to present a defence.

However, according to a leader from the party’s dissident faction, no such opportunity was provided before the suspension decision was executed on Wednesday.

Among those facing one-year suspension are several prominent leaders close to Shekhar Koirala, who leads a dissident faction in the Congress. They include Bikram Khanal, president of the party’s Lumbini Province committee; Bishnu Kumar Rai, Khotang district president; Kumar Khadka, former minister of Gandaki Province; and Krishna KC, former Kaski district president.

In response to the disciplinary action, the Koirala faction held an internal meeting on Thursday. At the meeting, Koirala reassured the affected leaders that justice would prevail.

“I will not let injustice happen to you,” Guru Ghimire, a leader from the same faction, quoted Koirala as telling the gathering. “An unfair action has been taken, and I will stand against it.”

Koirala expressed discontent with the disciplinary decision, saying that there had been a prior understanding with the party president and general secretaries not to proceed with such actions.

“It has now been pushed ahead despite the fact that it was agreed not to proceed,” said Koirala. “It will now be tabled at the next central committee meeting and it must not be approved from there.”

As per the party statute, any disciplinary action comes into force only after the central committee endorses it. Congress just concluded its central committee meeting, and the next meeting is scheduled for October.

The Koirala faction claimed that the disciplinary actions were politically motivated and aimed at punishing members from the rival camp. They said the measures were retaliatory and designed to suppress opposing voices within the party.

Ghimire accused the party establishment of breaching party procedures noting that any complaints should be addressed within six months of filing. However, the current actions were taken two and a half years after the election, thus violating the statute and internal regulations, according to him.

“The punishments were aimed at sidelining the opposing faction within the party and were carried out in a discriminatory and faction-driven manner,” Ghimire said, alleging deliberate targeting of specific individuals with the intent to derail their political careers rather than issuing proportionate warnings.

Ishwari Neupane, a member of the disciplinary committee, defended the action saying that the committee functions as a permanent party institution and that disciplinary action is an ongoing process.

“Since it is a continuous process, the argument that disciplinary cases must be resolved within six months of filing a complaint is not valid,” she remarked.

The five-member disciplinary committee is currently dominated by members close to party president Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Committee coordinator Ananda Prasad Dhungana, members Ishwari Neupane, and Dhruba Wagle are close to Deuba while Sanjay Gautam and Rajiv Koirala are from the Koirala faction.

Gautam and Koirala have publicly expressed dissent to the committee’s majority decision, warning that such harsh disciplinary actions, taken without due process and in violation of the party statute, could create more serious problems for the party.

They urged that punishment should not be taken with a prejudiced mindset, distinguishing between ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’ or ‘senior’ and ‘junior’ members.

They suggested the suspended leaders should instead be issued final warnings and granted general amnesty.

“This is a cautionary voice from our side,” said Gautam, expressing concern over the precedent such actions could set.

Committee coordinator Dhungana, however, defended the actions.

He stated that action was taken only after concrete evidence was obtained proving that the individuals in question had worked against the party's official candidates.

“Former ministers, district presidents and other leaders were suspended or expelled only after we had evidence of betrayal,” Dhungana said.

He said the disciplinary committee held 45 continuous meetings before reaching its decision. According to Dhungana, the committee had given the accused individuals the opportunity to defend themselves.

Then-home minister Balkrishna Khand lost his Rupandehi-3 seat in the 2022 general election. Khand attributed his defeat to intra-party betrayal.

The seat was won by Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s Dipak Bohara, who had the backing of the CPN-UML. Following Bohara’s passing on April 1, the Election Commission has scheduled a by-election for the seat on November 3.

“More than 2,100 complaints were filed of betrayal in the elections. We have taken action on some of them. These include four disciplinary measures–expulsion, suspension, seeking clarification, and issuing warnings,” Dhungana told Post. “We expelled only those against whom there was evidence. If evidence is found, we won’t spare even provincial presidents or central committee members.”

He confirmed that investigations are ongoing into complaints against 11 central committee members, one provincial president, and seven district presidents.

“Since 1990, betrayal against party candidates has repeatedly occurred in Congress—even a leader like Krishna Prasad Bhattarai lost to internal feud,” Dhungana said. “Despite repeated warnings, members have continued to act against official candidates, leaving us no choice but to take action.”

He reiterated the committee’s commitment to discipline, stating that no one—including office bearers at the centre—would be spared if sufficient evidence of wrongdoing was found.