Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Kumar Thapa has said that the party’s 15th General Convention should be taken as an opportunity to review past weaknesses and take the NC on a new political course.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the party’s 15th General Convention in Kathmandu on Sunday, Thapa also said the NC must move forward with clarity about its political principles and values. He said the party should stay away from the tendency to compromise its principles for short-term political gains.
Thapa said the tendency of the same faces repeatedly occupying positions of power and leadership has made Nepali politics resemble a musical chair. “This created a perception among the public that all political parties and leaders are the same and that all of them are bad. This ultimately led to the events of September 2025,” he added.
The NC President also said public disenchantment with politics had grown as people who had served as prime minister sought to return to the post, leaders repeatedly sought to retain leadership and ministers repeatedly returned to power.
He said dissatisfaction with political parties and their leadership had gradually grown like a smoldering fire, affecting not just a particular party or leader but the entire political system and its leadership. “This smoldering fire consumed everyone at once,” he said.
Thapa also said there had not been sufficient communication with the public about the two-thirds majority government formed by two political parties and its working style. He said the situation of September 2025 emerged because political parties failed to understand changing public sentiments and growing dissatisfaction in time.
“There was a two-thirds majority government formed by two parties. No one realized what was happening, and that led to the incidents of September 8 and 9,” Thapa said.
He recalled that the NC then held a special general convention to regroup and learn from the developments.
“We failed to understand this at the time. Leaders and cadres of the NC and other parties also became victims. But we went to the special general convention because we needed to regroup,” he said.
Thapa said the NC contested elections after the special general convention but failed to secure the desired result. Stating that the party had experienced both victories and defeats in previous elections, he said it had now entered a new general convention.
He said the party needed to change its leadership, conduct and political working style to overcome growing public disenchantment with politics and distrust of political parties.
Thapa said the NC must now establish itself not merely as a political force that talks about democracy but as one that delivers results to the people. “The NC will serve as a bridge between democracy and delivery,” Thapa said. “It will connect the old and new generations. This is our commitment.”
He said if the NC became weak or inactive, it could also affect public trust in the democratic system. “We must make people realize what would happen if the NC ceased to exist today,” he said. “If the bridge collapses, trust collapses. The NC must work to preserve that trust.”
He added that the 15th General Convention should be more than an exercise in changing the party leadership. “It should also provide an opportunity for serious deliberation on the party’s future political direction, policies and ability to deliver results to the people,” Thapa added.
