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CONGRESS ELECTIONS |
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CONGRESS ELECTIONS |
A Symbolic Fight Getting re-elected as party president was the least of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's challenges. In the days ahead, he will have to balance within the party and make uncomfortable choices. By KESHAB POUDEL in Pokhara On January 23, a Necon Air flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu had one (serious) passenger: newly elected Nepali Congress president and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. Among those accompanying him were his sister-in-law Nona Koirala and, of course, his bodyguard. Yet, Koirala chose not to notice who was with him. Instead, he sat up quietly along with his long-time party colleague Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.
Koirala's seriousness is understandable. He faces one of the most challenging tasks in his political career: starting the process of handing over the leadership to younger generation. Although 78-year-old Koirala has already set a three-year time frame for himself to transfer the party leadership, the situation is not so simple. Unlike his first term as party president, Prime Minister Koirala has to walk a tight rope, accommodating all his apartment into a unified party. The likely impact of Koirala's re-election on the party's popular base is yet unclear, despite his declaration that he would hand over the leadership. Nepali Congress has also proved that it is still popular among the people and wields influence across the country. The challenge ahead for the five-decade-old party is how to retain that influence. "I will comment only after Koirala's future steps. I am happy that such a huge percentage of people voted for me despite the hostile attitude of Girijababu," said Sher Bahadur Deuba, after the results were announced. "The result has established myself as a leader of the party." Despite Deuba's claim of being the only contender for the top leadership, the election results indicated a new scenario, as large number of voters overwhelmingly voted for Shailaja Acharya and Ram Chandra Poudel in the contest for central committee membership.
The near hysterical loyalty showed on Pokhara airport where Koirala's rival, Deuba spoke very confidently with press when they arrived on 16 January. But a week later, Deuba secured less than 35 percent of total votes cast. In the elections held on January 22, Deuba polled 507 votes out of 1468 valid votes cast by the General Assembly delegates from across the country. Koirala has not only won with nearly two-third majority: he defeated his two opponents, as expected. After the elections, equally strong contenders for the party leadership Ram Chandra Poudel and Shailaja Acharya have challenged former prime minister Deuba's claim as the only legitimate second generation leader. In the process of transfer of leadership, Koirala ignored the election campaign leaving the decision in the hands of the delegates. Although he has been accused of filling the party with relatives and hangers-on, Koirala too the opportunity to rebut charges that he wants to fill the party with family members and sycophants. After all, he supported the decision of the party's election commission to reject the nomination papers of his daughter Sujata Koirala. Married to a German citizen, Sujata returned to Nepal in 1991 after Koirala became prime minister. She acquired Nepali citizenship in 1994 and joined active politics the following year. The likely impact of Koirala's neutrality in the elections for central committee members clearly indicated he was not in a mood to ask favors even from his long-time colleague and cousin Sushil Koirala. Bhattarai, too, showed maturity during the party convention. Although he backed Deuba , Bhattarai avoided saying anything that might have added fuel to the dissension. At the end of his political career, Bhattarai clearly indicated that he would not do anything that will harm the party unity. In sharp contrast to the two senior leaders, Deuba seemed over-confident and at times even arrogant. When he arrived in Pokhara on January 17, Deuba appeared almost certain -- or at least gave the impression -- that he would defeat his one-time mentor. Many in the party are disappointed to see that Deuba has lost an opportunity to establish himself as an unchallenged second-generation leader. The Nepali Congress proved that it is a party representing the entire country, as delegates from the Terai, hill and mountains thronged to the convention hall. How could Deuba have won more votes after he unleashed a tirade against Koirala weeks before the convention? He had relied on sulking chieftains to quietly back him. No one did. Most of his colleagues decided to vote for Koirala in hope of getting appointed to the CWC.
Many in the party are still disappointed. The battle against Koirala lacked finesse and to many it was out of character with Koirala. If one coterie is so arrogant against Koirala, the pro-Koirala camp too was further aggressive. So what does a fresh mandate mean for Koirala? Plenty of things. It means getting back to work after a long holiday. It is a morale boosting for the septuagenarian leader. The same place, same people and same position but a new spirit. Despite the literary flourish, the fact is, trouncing Deuba is not the end of Koirala's challenges. Everyone has fallen in line all right. But now he will have to make choices. Who should he reward? Who can he ignore Should he build a bridge with the past or the future? What about his role in three years' time? There is also the looming problem of intellectual bankruptcy in the party. Bhattarai is aging, Poudel is uninterested. Of equal importance is how Koirala will deal with Deuba. Although he would want to appear magnanimous after victory, Koirala would also have to resist pressure to take punitive action against his challenger. Deuba scored a symbolic victory by deciding to challenge Koirala for the party presidency. The real significance of the electoral battle lies not in its final outcome, but in its political symbolism. Even at the time of filing his nomination papers on January 20, Deuba must have known that he would lose. And yet, Deuba fought to the finish. Although Deuba failed to take the party presidency, he still leads a powerful lobby within the party. The convention, party insiders say, has failed to end the uncertainty that has gripped the Nepali Congress in recent months. At the personal level, Deuba's moves could result either in his emergence as an alternative power center or in his expulsion from the party. While Deuba and his supporters hope to achieve the former, they seem to be prepared for the latter. Koirala prescribed an agenda to consolidate and unify the party and appealed to work accordingly. That may be a difficult task, especially with powerful opponents like Pradip Giri well entrenched in the central committee. The first general convention, January 5,
1947, Calcutta, Bhanipur, India Second Convention, Benaras, India, 1948 Third Convention, Darvanga, India, 1949 Nepali National Democratic Congress led by Matrika Prasad Koirala and Nepal Democratic Congress led by Mahendra Bikram Shaha merged. Fourth Convention in Kalkutta Tiger Hill,
India, 1950 Fifth Convention, Janakpur, 1952 Sixth Convention in Birgunj Special Convention, Biratnagar, 1957 Seventh Convention, Kathmandu, 1960 Eighth Convention at Kalbalgudi, Jhapa in
1993 Ninth Convention, Kathmandu, 1997 Tenth Convention in Pokhara, 2001 |
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