“Neither side has adopted a solution-oriented approach.” That was the verdict of Dr. Minendra Rijal, a Nepali Congress leader and former minister, in an interview with Khabarhub published June 28. His message to both camps: reunite the party, but do not do it by merging the two working committees.
The interview came nearly a month after the special general convention, with the establishment and dissident factions still running parallel structures. Party president Gagan Kumar Thapa had warned that members who fail to renew their digital active membership by July 4 would not be recognised. Critics inside the party said the leadership was leaning on administrative measures rather than trying to bridge the gap. The dissident side, meanwhile, set up an office in Chundevi, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, and widened its work ahead of the 15th General Convention.
An insider who did not want the convention
Rijal said he opposed holding the special convention. He ran as an official candidate anyway once its opponents were offered party tickets. When the court recognised Thapa as the legitimate president, Rijal said he was not satisfied with the verdict but saw no option except to accept it, and renewed his membership. “It is no longer appropriate for us to keep debating that issue,” he said.
Some colleagues have proposed combining the old and new working committees. He rejected that. The two bodies came out of fundamentally different positions, he said: one side formed a new committee because it felt the 14th Working Committee had failed, and the other stayed out because it considered the process improper. Arguing over who held the majority is pointless, in his view. He put the balance at roughly 40-60, and said a party cannot function with one side shut out.
His alternative has three parts. Renewing membership is an easy step toward unity. The party must tighten the security of members’ digital data, since even the government has struggled to protect digital records. And the committees stay separate. Both camps want to reach the regular 15th General Convention, so he wants members from each accommodated on the road there. The special-convention leadership should be as inclusive and flexible as it can, he said, and the other faction should accept the court-recognised leadership.
Blame on both sides
Why has unity failed after six months? Rijal said the shortcomings run both ways, and he declined to name individuals. “The greater responsibility naturally rests with the party president,” he added. Senior figures, he said, should not assume long experience alone entitles them to lead, and those who call themselves intellectuals are expected to show flexibility.
He spoke from personal experience. After losing the general secretary race at the last convention, he resigned from the Cabinet. The party read that as defiance and denied him a ticket from his own constituency, leaving him outside active politics for nearly five years. “Yesterday one leadership sidelined me, and today another leadership has done the same,” he said. He added that he would rather watch objectively than speak loudly for either side.
The current leadership’s attitude, as he described it, is: “If you want to come, come. If you don’t, that’s your choice.” Veteran leaders took that as an insult. “Neither side can escape responsibility by saying, ‘It is not my fault; it is someone else’s,’” he said.
What happened next
The split did not close. At events marking the 44th BP Memorial Day on a Wednesday in July, the factions met separately, according to the Kathmandu Post. Dissident leaders around former president Sher Bahadur Deuba warned of a new party and announced a national gathering for August 14. Their central demand was that all 111 office bearers and central members elected at the 14th convention be brought into the new committee together. Joint general secretary Prakash Snehi said the party would not accept that under any circumstances.
Sources
- NC must unite, not merge rival factions: Dr. Minendra Rijal
- Nepali Congress factions hold separate events to commemorate party founder BP
