KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress lawmakers elected Sher Bahadur Deuba as the parliamentary party leader on Wednesday. Deuba received 64 votes, while General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa received 25 votes.
Thapa was expected to lose the election in any way. But the number of votes he received has surprised many because he was estimated to have the support of 32 lawmakers until Tuesday evening. These lawmakers were also present at a meeting of Thapa’s camp at Basera Hotel in Babar Mahal, where the camp was hopeful of winning the support of nine lawmakers from Deuba’s camp, which would have taken Thapa’s votes to 39. However, seven lawmakers from Thapa’s camp ended up voting for Deuba.
Accepting his defeat, Thapa said: “I proposed to change the leadership of the parliamentary party, its working style and the responsibility. But the majority of lawmakers were not on my side. It seems that my understanding and theirs were different.” According to knowledgeable sources, Thapa needs to excel further in party politics. They say that although the youth voted for him in the party’s general convention, it didn’t work in parliamentary affairs.
Journalist Kiran Pokharel, who has covered the Nepali Congress beat for many years, said the election results show that Thapa still has a lot of work to do in the party. “Thapa needs to be more active in party work. He was elected general secretary because of his popularity, but he needs to work more to tighten his grip on the party to become parliamentary party leader,” Pokharel added. He estimates that some leaders decided to vote for Deuba because they saw that Thapa had no chance of winning the election. “Many may have chosen against voting for Thapa, realizing that Deuba is certain to become the next prime minister,” Pokharel said.
Surendra Chand, a professor of political science, said that Thapa may have lost because leaders have not yet evaluated his performance as the party’s general secretary. He also said that the older generation is still not confident in Thapa.
Surendra Chand, a professor of political science, said that Thapa may have lost because leaders have not yet evaluated his performance as the party’s general secretary. He also said that the older generation is still not confident in Thapa.
Some say the activities of lawmakers Arzoo Rana Deuba and Manju Khand were one of the reasons behind Thapa’s defeat. While Rana is the spouse of Deuba, Khand is the better half of Minister for Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khanda – a trusted lieutenant of Deuba. “These two lawmakers coerced women lawmakers elected under the PR system to vote for Deuba,” an NC leader said.
Thapa also said that Arzoo and Manju asked some lawmakers to take photographs of their votes. “Some lawmakers used cameras in polling centers which looked indecent. Around 10-11 lawmakers took photos of their vote,” he added.
NC joint general secretary Jivan Pariyar, who is close to the Koirala-Thapa camp, said that the vote received by Thapa was unexpected. “Since it is a secret ballot, we cannot say for sure who voted and who didn’t. But we will evaluate this election,” he said.
