Deuba neither congratulated the new working committee led by Thapa nor the Congress candidates in the election fray. He is telling his close associates that the confusion within the Congress will soon be resolved by showing them the pending cases in court.
What you should know
Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has been the Prime Minister for five times and the Congress President for two times, did not issue a public message of greetings on Martyrs' Day on Friday. He last extended greetings on Sonam Lhosar on 5th Magh in his capacity as the President.
At that time, Gagan Thapa had become the party president from the special general convention and the Election Commission had updated and recognized the central working committee under his leadership on 2 Magh.
Deuba has not even deleted the status of president on his Facebook and 'X' accounts Deuba has not said anything publicly since leaving the presidency except for his best wishes for Lhosar. Deuba has been completely separated from the current leadership ever since the special general convention held on 27-30 Poush, amid disagreements from the old establishment, dissolved the central working committee led by Deuba and elected a 134-member working committee under Thapa.
Leaders close to him who meet him say that Deuba cannot forget the pain of suddenly losing power and authority due to the rebellion within the party. Deuba has not yet publicly accepted that Thapa has become the president. He has not even congratulated Thapa after he was elected president. Deuba has not even deleted the status of the president on his Facebook and 'X' accounts.
Congress candidates are going door to door. Candidates who have entered the election fray are seeking a message of unity within the party. However, Deuba has ignored this and has not sent a message of congratulations to any candidate so far. According to a close leader, Deuba is still hoping that the court will rule in his favor.
After the Election Commission updated the Thapa-led Central Working Committee, Deuba and the then acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka, on behalf of the old establishment party, filed a case in the court on 4th Magh against it. The case was filed on the same day as the candidacy nomination on 6th Magh, but the court has not issued an interim order and has asked the opposition to submit a written response within 15 days. The case has been given priority so that the final hearing will be held within 15 days of submitting a written response or the expiry of the deadline.
According to a close leader, Deuba is still hoping that the court will rule in his favor.
Deuba is reassuring his close leaders and well-wishers that the confusion within the Congress will soon be resolved by showing the case pending in the court. ‘President Deuba does not want to step out as a former president,’ said a close leader, ‘That is why his state of mind does not seem to be reflected in the election to this day.’
Deuba’s contradictory character has also been seen in whether to accept Thapa as the president or not. Until midnight on 5th Magh, Deuba was looking for a ticket to contest the election under the signature of President Thapa himself. He wanted to contest for the last time. His single name was also recommended from his home district, Dadeldhura. On the one hand, Deuba, who went to court calling the Thapa-led working committee illegal, on the other hand, has remained silent after trying to contest the election on a ticket signed by Thapa.
Deuba's name was at the top of the list of 85 people demanded by the Deuba group to get tickets. He had waited for the ticket till midnight. However, when the new leadership was not positive about giving him a ticket, he was forced to announce that he would not be a candidate at 12.20 that night. Immediately after that, former president of the Nepali Sangh, Nainsingh Mahar, got the ticket in his place.
Out of the list sent by the Deuba group, 35 people including Bimalendra Nidhi, Vijay Kumar Gachhadar, Prakash Sharan Mahat, Kishore Singh Rathore, NP Saud, Mahendra Rai Yadav, Ajay Chaurasia, Shankar Bhandari, Saroj Kumar Yadav, Sushila Thing, Anil Kumar Ruganta, Janak Raj Chaudhary, Tek Bahadur Gurung, Kesh Bahadur Bista, and Deep Bahadur Shahi have got tickets.
There is a common view within the Congress that action should be taken against those guilty of arson and vandalism on 24 Bhadra. However, there is a difference of opinion between the old establishment and the new leadership in the Congress on how to understand the incident of 23 Bhadra. The then head of the publicity department, Min Bishwakarma, says that the currently uncomfortable environment seen in order to unite the party during the elections should be resolved. According to him, leaders are not able to 'share' the stage during election campaigns, especially due to their positional dignity. He said that the dignity given to the office bearers and members of the Deuba-led working committee during the program and speeches should be adjusted.
'It is seen that the positional dignity and address seen in the election campaign should be adjusted, words that increase conflict between each other should not be used and an environment should be created for sharing the stage with a common style,' he said. 'It is appropriate to have a common view on the party's election manifesto and strategy. It is harmful to bring strategic matters by forgetting the history and background of the Congress.'
Similarly, there is a difference of opinion between the old establishment and the new leadership on how to deal with the Gen-G rebellion. There is a common view within the Congress that action should be taken against those responsible for the arson and destruction on 24 Bhadra. However, there is a difference of opinion between the old establishment and the new leadership in the Congress on how to understand the incident of 23 Bhadra. The new leadership has been clearly demanding that action be taken against the guilty after an investigation, while the old establishment has understood it to mean action against former Prime Minister KP Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak.
‘If Deuba had got the ticket, all the leaders of the old establishment would have been deployed in the elections by now, the case in court would have also been settled, but after not being given the ticket, he himself is in a state of not going anywhere,’ said a leader, ‘It seems that this could disrupt the broad unity within the party.’
Deuba never lost the elections from 2048 to 2079 from his home district Dadeldhura. After winning 7 elections, he became the Prime Minister 5 times and the party president for two terms.
Mahar, who is a candidate in that place after Deuba did not get a ticket, is busy with election campaigning. Wherever he goes, local voters have started looking for Deuba. That is why Mahar came to Kathmandu a few days ago to request Deuba to take him to his home district. However, he did not get any answer whether it will be possible or not. After that, he returned to his home district and started campaigning again.
According to Mahar, the people of Dadeldhura want to see Deuba, who has been sent by him to win elections 7/7 times, once. 'Sher Bahadur Dai is not only a leader, but also the guardian of Dadeldhura district, the people of the district have sent him as an unconditional representative since 048. Dadeldhura has played the role of making him the Prime Minister 5 times and the Congress President 2 times. The general public wants to meet such a guardian once, understand the current news, and take a photo,' says Mahar.
Another leader did not want to come out because of the propaganda that Deuba's face cannot be brought forward to bring good results in the elections. 'People do not believe in Deuba if they go to the elections, the party's position will deteriorate, that's why there is a question of why they go to the elections,' the leader said.
However, President Thapa, while addressing an election program in Dhanusha on Friday, claimed that there is no dispute within the party, stating that he is in constant dialogue with outgoing President Deuba. 'I am in constant dialogue with outgoing President Shradaya Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, I am in dialogue with other leaders,' he said, 'The party has entered the elections as one, there is no facility to remain stuck with yesterday's issues. We should go to the elections as one mind, as one. There is no faction in the party, there is only one group.'
He also warned that it would be tightened, hinting at the possible non-cooperation with the candidates. He said that a meeting of the Central Performance Committee will be held in a few days and a disciplinary committee will be formed to monitor. "A disciplinary committee will be formed under the chairmanship of a senior party leader. If someone has shown non-cooperation during the election, the concerned candidate will say it based on the facts and evidence. The center will accept whatever the candidate brings," Thapa said.
