KATHMANDU, Oct 27: Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa has directed the party’s central members to end the practice of conducting politics from Kathmandu and instead work directly with party members and voters in their respective local areas.
Thapa said the party needed changes in its leadership and working style, making it clear that central members could no longer consider their responsibilities fulfilled simply by remaining in the capital.
He said the party was moving towards a system in which local party members would select candidates for the upcoming local elections, rather than having candidates chosen by the central leadership. The process would be incorporated into the party statute, he added.
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Under the proposed system, party members in Pokhara would select the candidate for Pokhara Metropolitan City, while party members in Tanahun would choose their candidate for the district. Leaders aspiring to contest elections, including central-level leaders, would have to visit their constituencies and work among party members.
“This time, we will not select candidates for the local elections from the top. Party members in Pokhara will decide who the candidate for Pokhara Metropolitan City will be, while our colleagues in Tanahun will choose the candidate there,” Thapa said.
He noted that party leaders had previously been able to fulfil their political responsibilities while remaining at the centre, but said that practice would no longer continue.
Thapa also pledged to prioritise accountability and ethical conduct within the party as its president. He said he would ensure that no Congress leader or party worker felt uncomfortable because of his personal conduct, temperament, decisions or actions.
“I am the president you have elected. The presidency is only a position and a responsibility,” he said.
Acknowledging the greater contributions of senior leaders and party workers, as well as the presence of younger people more capable than himself, Thapa said he viewed the presidency as a responsibility rather than a source of personal prestige
