As the mandatory deadline for submitting the list of proportional candidates to the Election Commission approaches, the establishment party has become suspicious after the other parties in the establishment party decided to finalize the candidates before the direct nominations scheduled for Magh 20.
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The Nepali Congress establishment wing, under the leadership of President Sher Bahadur Deuba, has begun the process of distributing tickets for the upcoming House of Representatives elections to be held on 21 Falgun.
The Election Commission has set a date for submitting the list of proportional candidates by December 18 and 19. However, the establishment party of the Nepali Congress has moved to finalize the candidates before the direct nominations on January 6, which has raised concerns among the non-establishment parties.
The meeting of the Central Working Committee on December 15 approved the schedule for the central general convention from December 26 to 28. Since the proportional list is to be submitted on December 18-19 and the nominations for the National Assembly are to be held on December 23, it is imperative to finalize both before the general convention. However, the establishment party has made a strategy to recommend the names of the direct candidates at once and distribute tickets before the general convention, which has raised concerns among the non-establishment parties.
Deuba will step down as president after the 15th general convention due to the provision that he cannot serve more than two terms as per the party statute. He was elected president from the 13th and 14th general conventions. However, to maintain his active role in parliamentary politics, Deuba wants to distribute tickets under his own signature this time.
Leaders close to him say that he has planned to proceed with the general convention and ticket distribution simultaneously. The main issue of the long-running dispute in the party, ‘Should we hold the general convention before the elections or after?’, was who would distribute tickets.
Deuba left the meeting chairing the meeting and left, giving the responsibility of acting president to Deputy President Purna Bahadur Khadka. However, he registered the party with his own name and signature with the Election Commission on November 20.
Both General Secretary Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma had been saying that ‘tickets will be distributed only with the signature of the new leadership’. However, Deuba’s decision to send his own without sending the name and signature of the acting president, moving ahead with the parliamentary elections again and showing activeness in ticket distribution has made Thapa even more suspicious.
Thapa had written a status on social media at 2 pm on November 21, saying, ‘The party will not contest the election under the signature of the current president, it will only contest under the signature of the new leadership.’
He had written, ‘Since morning, many friends have been asking − Is the party going to contest the election under the signature of the current president? I said − No. Friends asked again − How? I said − It is clear, now a special general convention will be held within the time frame as per the statute. From there, a new president will be elected. The decision will be corrected with the signature of the new president and sent to the Election Commission. The party will contest the election under the same signature with the new policy and leadership. This is the reason why we are calling for a special general convention even before the election. Now there is no alternative to a special general convention. The matter is clear, do not get confused.’
But instead of a special general convention as Thapa said, only the schedule for the regular general convention has been set. On the one hand, there is uncertainty about whether the general convention will be held on the scheduled date, while on the other hand, Deuba is active with a strategy that if he can distribute tickets under his own leadership, the establishment side will benefit from the general convention and maintain its hold in the latest parliamentary politics, according to leaders close to him.
According to the center's circular, regional working committees across the country have started recommending the names of proportional, direct and National Assembly candidates. On the direct side, President Deuba's name has been recommended from Dadeldhura, Acting President Khadka from Surkhet-1, General Secretary Thapa from Kathmandu-4, Dr. Shekhar Koirala from Morang-6, and General Secretary Bishwaprakash Sharma from Jhapa-1.
Similarly, former Vice President Bimalendra Nidhi has been recommended from Dhanusha-3 and businessman Sunil Sharma from Morang-3. General Secretary Thapa's name has also been recommended from Rolpa and Dhankuta. Former Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba is preparing to stand from Kailali-5, but a unanimous recommendation could not be made. The names of Dilliraj Pant, Nrip Bahadur Ode and Nar Narayan Shah have also been recommended from this constituency.
Spokesperson Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that a circular has been issued to recommend candidates for all three elections as per the decision of Mangsir 15. ‘Along with the proportional representation, direct candidates have also been asked to be recommended. Since earlier it was finalized only at the last minute, this time it was done to see if it could be done on time,’ he said, ‘If the candidates are finalized as soon as possible, it will also be easier for the candidates to prepare.’
The regional working committee is the main arbiter of proportional representation and direct candidacies of the House of Representatives. Aspirants submit their claims in the regional meeting. If there are more than three aspirants, or if there is no consensus, the majority recommends the names of three people.
The recommendation of the regional committee reaches the center through the districts and provinces, and the final decision is made by the parliamentary board formed under the chairmanship of the president. The regional convention is being held on Poush 21 as per the general convention schedule. A serious question may arise whether the newly elected regional committee will accept the recommendation of the old committee or not, says Hridayram Thani, a leader close to Dr. Shekhar Koirala.
‘The main argument in the dispute over whether to hold a general convention before the election or after was whether the establishment party will have the right to distribute tickets,’ says Thani. ‘Our main demand is that tickets should be distributed only after the new leadership comes. The dispute over whether the new committee will accept the recommendation of the old regional committee or not may arise later.’
Leaders in favor of a special general convention have been warning that they will not contest the election if tickets are distributed by the current leadership. Leader in favor of a special general convention, Subash Nemwang (Pokharel ?), said that they are still on a wait-and-see strategy for some time as it is not certain that a regular general convention will be held. However, he claims that the candidacy for the direct election will come from the new leadership.
‘There is doubt that the regular general convention will be held on the scheduled date. We will wait until Poush 20-21. Then it will be clear,’ he said, ‘As soon as the regular general convention is not held, we will move forward for a special general convention. Our demand for a special general convention is alive, under consideration, not dead. The leadership will change before the election.’
