[Commentatry]Mixed poll result may move Deuba to strive for party unity

KATHMANDU, March 9: Election of top office bearers of Nepali Congress from both the rival and establishment factions of the party has fueled curiosity as to how newly-elected President Sher Bahadur Deuba will run the party for the next four years.

Party rank and file have started weighing on how the election of Deuba as party president and his rivals Shashank Koirala as general secretary and Sita Devi Yadav as treasurer from the panel led by Ram Chandra Paudel, who was defeated by Deuba for the post of party president, would impact the functioning of the party in the days to come.

Some leaders have taken the mixed result as an opportunity for further uniting the party and ending years-long factional politics and the so called 60-40 shares of seats between the two rival factions within the party. In the past, the party’s establishment side led by late Sushil Koirala used to command 60 percent and Deuba 40 percent of shares on certain issues.
However, close aides of Deuba, who were excited with his wide-margin victory over Paudel, have been compelled to accommodate the other side as two other key posts have been bagged by the establishment faction.
Also, initial vote counting for the central committee members has indicated that members are likely to be elected from both the sides.
The party statute allows NC president to nominate 21 leaders including party vice president, a general secretary a joint general secretary and other central committee members. But the statute also has a provision that nominations must be endorsed from the party central committee meeting.
“Deuba could fall in a trap if his panel fails to secure majority in the CWC. That would create hurdles in getting his nominations accepted from the rival faction,” said political analyst Puranjan Acharya.
In the previous general convention, Deuba-led panel had only succeeded in electing their candidate for the post of treasurer among the top post. The establishment side had won both the post of president and general secretary and had secured clear majority even in the party central working committee as well. Having around 40 percent strength in the central committee, Deuba panel always sought share in the party as per its strength.
But the 13th convention elected key office bearers from the establishment side and the party president from the rival panel. Since his election as the party president, Deuba has been stressing on ending factional activities in the party. Many see the election of a rival leader to the post of party president with office bearers from the establishment faction would help end division and tradition of sharing of seats.
“Deuba has an opportunity to further unite the party and end the tradition of sharing seats as his rival Ram Chandra Paudel does not have any experience of promoting factional politics in the party,” said Acharya.
Deuba had reunited his party Nepali Congress (Democratic) in 2005 five years after splitting from the party establishment.