by Tika R Pradhan in Kathmandu Post, Jan 25, 2023
Former prime minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who managed to make his party the biggest in Parliament, is currently facing severe criticism from in and outside of the party for failing to save the electoral alliance and thus keeping the party out of power.
Party insiders and observers believe that after losing both the Speaker and deputy Speaker posts, the upcoming national presidential elections could be a kind of litmus test for Deuba. If the Congress fails to elect a candidate of its choice as new President, Deuba’s sway in the party could gradually decline.
Though Deuba, with the help of his coalition partners, managed to win 57 first-past-the-seats last November, up from 23 seats in 2017, he could not stop CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal from deserting the coalition, thereby losing power both at the federal and provincial levels.
After failing to secure Congress’ place in government, Deuba decided to give a confidence vote to Prime Minister Dahal, which created confusion about whether the Congress could now actually be termed the main opposition.
Now, the presidential election could be a turning point for Deuba to gain power within the party and also the state power.
“Presidential polls will be a litmus test for our party president,” said Shankar Tiwari, a Congress leader and political analyst. “Losing the battle could lead to further erosion of Deuba’s authority in the party.”
This authority might be hard to regain as the party’s statute will prevent Deuba, 76, from contesting the top leadership position again.
A fierce critic of the party’s current leadership, Tiwari said this is the first time in Congress history that the party had to stay out of power even after becoming the largest in Parliament.
Leaders and cadres of the party take sides in the party depending on the power equation among top leaders. If a leader is seen as toothless, they will gradually lose their supporters as well.
“I have reports from different districts that party leaders and cadres close to Deuba are unhappy and thinking of switching sides after he failed to save the coalition,” Tiwari told the Post. “If he fails to install a Congress nominee as President, there could be even more of such switches away from the Deuba camp.”
Some other party leaders say that even though there might be a kind of tacit understanding between Deuba and Dahal, they are not confident Dahal will support the Congress candidate despite his difficult equation with Oli, who had twice before ditched Dahal.
https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2023/01/25/losing-presidency-will-add-to-deuba-s-woes
https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2023/01/25/losing-presidency-will-add-to-deuba-s-woes
