KATHMANDU, Jan 12: Striking a reformist tone at the opening session of the Nepali Congress (NC) Special General Convention (SGC) on Sunday evening, General Secretaries Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma vowed to transform not only the party but the country itself.
Their call for a “reformed Nepali Congress” drew visible momentum as around 30 central committee (CC) members who had previously broken ranks with the establishment faction joined the convention. Senior figures, including former General Secretary and former Speaker Taranath Ranabhat and veteran leader Gopal Man Shrestha—long considered close to party president Sher Bahadur Deuba—also took part, lending implicit endorsement to the SGC.
Emphasizing that national change begins with personal and institutional reform, Thapa and Sharma said the NC must reinvent itself to remain politically relevant. Their rise to the party’s top executive positions had already stirred optimism among younger cadres eager for generational change.
That mandate was clear during the party’s 14th General Convention in December 2021, when the final results announced on December 16 showed Thapa emerging as the highest vote-getter. Of the 4,682 votes cast, he secured 3,023 votes, while Sharma received 1,984. Since then, the responsibility of reshaping the party and grooming a new leadership generation has rested squarely on their shoulders.
Both leaders hail from student politics and have spent decades in organizational roles. Now, following the SGC, they face the broader task of aligning party reform with the evolving aspirations of Nepali society.
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Under their leadership, the NC is seeking to rebuild its connection with the youth and take concrete steps toward socio-economic reform. At the same time, they face a delicate political balancing act: charting a dignified exit for Sher Bahadur Deuba while ensuring the continued engagement of senior leaders to maintain party unity.
The Gagan–Bishwa partnership is being viewed as more than an internal power alignment. Supporters expect it to push the NC toward a politics anchored in equality, justice, and prosperity. Beyond drafting reform agendas, the duo must also convince party workers and the public that the NC can reclaim a leading role in national development.
As senior leader Pushpa Bhusal noted in her address, the SGC must send a clear signal that the NC is ready to break free from factionalism, political violence, and patronage-driven politics.
The alliance must also respond to the ethical questions raised by the Gen Z movement—particularly demands for accountability, institutional reform, and moral leadership. Practices such as capturing parties in the name of democracy, turning parties into private fiefdoms, and revolving national politics around a handful of leaders, many argue, have hollowed out democratic ideals.
If the commitments made at this convention translate into action, observers say, the NC may not only reawaken itself but also force rival parties built on control-driven strategies to rethink their political course.
Who is Gagan Thapa?
Gagan Thapa entered politics during the 2046 BS People’s Movement while still a Grade 9 student, but his formal political career began at Tri-Chandra College. There, he joined the Nepali Students’ Union (NSU) and was elected to the Free Students’ Union (FSU) in 2051 BS, later serving as its secretary and president.
After becoming FSU president in 2055 BS, Thapa rose to national student politics, serving as NSU General Secretary from 2059 to 2061 BS. Despite ideological differences with then NC president Girija Prasad Koirala, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly under the Proportional Representation (PR) system in 2064 BS and later won from Kathmandu Constituency-4 in the second Constituent Assembly.
He went on to chair the Agriculture and Water Resources Committee and later served as Minister for Health and Population during Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s second term as prime minister. Thapa retained Kathmandu-4 in both the 2017 and 2022 elections, even amid strong nationwide electoral waves against the NC.
Who is Bishwa Prakash Sharma?
Elected General Secretary in 2078 BS from the Prakash Man Singh panel, Bishwa Prakash Sharma was born on December 21, 1970, in Shantinagar, Jhapa. His political journey began early—he became chair of the NSU unit at Dhulabari Secondary School in 2040 BS and was first arrested a year later while still in Grade 9.
Sharma went on to serve as NSU Jhapa district president in 2047 BS, became a central committee member in 2048 BS, and later held positions as NSU General Secretary and Vice President. In 2057 BS, he was elected NSU Central President and later became an NC general convention representative.
After early setbacks in district-level politics, Sharma was elected to the NC central committee in 2072 BS, appointed party spokesperson in 2074 BS, and finally won a parliamentary seat in the 2022 general election after defeats in 2013 and 2017.
