Mon, 12 October 2026
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Mon, 12 October 2026
The Nepali Congress elected new leadership at its 15th general convention, which concluded the other day. Gagan Thapa, who became party president at the Special Convention earlier this year, was elected to the presidency, securing over 93 per cent of the votes of more than 7,000 delegates. Bishwo Prakash Sharma was elected as senior vice-president unopposed. Thapa and Sharma had spearheaded the campaign for leadership transfer in the wake of the Gen Z revolt last year. The youth-led revolt against the rigid, gerontocratic leadership of the old political parties had changed the political course of the country. The rebellion within the NC through the special convention reflected these evolving dynamics of Nepali society. The representatives of the party general convention have placed greater trust in Thapa's competence to transform the party at a time when the established parties have lost their credibility and moral fibre.
Thapa now sits on a mountain of challenges to live up to the expectations of not only his own functionaries but also the common people. Upon his election to the party's top position, he said that he viewed the responsibility entrusted to him not as a privilege but as an obligation to be accountable. He also underlined the need for changing the party's working style and enhancing accountability. As a full-fledged president of the country's oldest democratic party, Thapa has realised the fact that the trust between the people and the NC has broken. Only a few leaders would accept the bitter realities on the ground. It is indeed a herculean task for the new leadership to bring those who left or became disenchanted with the party to the fold. According to him, the first meeting of the Central Working Committee would formulate an action plan based on the reports adopted by the general convention and the party would implement it.
During the Special Convention, the party had set a slogan: We changed Congress: We shall change the country. Then, it had to join the March election immediately, with little time to revamp the party and clearly put forth its agenda before the electorates. The election outcomes showed that the NC had not changed in the eyes of the people. So they handed an overwhelming victory to the Rastriya Swatantra Party. President Thapa himself lost the election in Sarlahi district. Now Thapa has sufficient time to change the NC. The party had a glorious history but the people will not always support it just because of its golden past. The party should take inspiration from the past and build a pro-people character as per the needs of the present.
The first and foremost task ahead of the new leadership is to ensure intergenerational justice. In the past, the voice of leadership transfer and inner-party democracy were lost in the wilderness. The tendency to keep the party leadership for a long time deprived it of popular touch, with a cabal of individuals pulling the strings all the time. New president Thapa must break the web of bichauliyas (middlemen) that blocked the circulation of fresh ideas and faces. The party has increased the number of office-bearers and central committee members ahead of the convention. The bloated structures at the top could affect its efficiency and long-term goals of transformation. Moreover, the anti-establishment faction is holding a parallel convention in two months. The vertical split will sap the party's energy. Therefore, the leadership must demonstrate its ability to foster broader unity within the party.
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