Politics is difficult. Getting to the apex of the politics is even more difficult. However, for some people, it's a cakewalk. Success comes their way without much ado, may be to honor their simplicity, commitment, dedication and selfless nature. The President of Nepali Congress and former Prime Minister late Sushil Koirala was one such person.Even after becoming the executive head of the country, he used to admit that he never vied for the position. Koirala had no ambition to hold any position, be it in the party or the government. He was working solely for the betterment of his party, and for the interest of his brothers and sisters. He was a true soldier of the party, and a true follower of his two cousins, Bishweshwor Prasad and Girija Prasad, both of whom became the Prime Minister of the country. Sushil Koirala's only source of inspiration was his conviction for democracy and liberal political values. The sincere commitments for the rights of the people made him a true achiever.
When Sushil Koirala joined politics in 1954, he was only fifteen years old. At the time he had developed a passion to act in Hollywood movies. However, his ambition was shattered when BP Koirala's government was overthrown in a coup staged by the then King Mahendra in 1960. After that the Koirala family was in exile in India for 16 years. In exile, their hand to mouth problems got worse. The big brothers were unrelenting on their political ambitions, so BP Koirala asked Sushil to look for a job and support the family. Koirala then divided his attention between the family and politics.
A Hollywood aspirant had to give up his dream, but destiny had another coveted prize in store for him: the position of the President of Nepali Congress, Nepal's largest party, and the Prime Minister of the country. The prize though did not come soon. It took him many decades of continued commitment and hard work to receive it.
Born on August 12th, 1939, late Sushil Koirala never positioned himself for the seat of the party chief and top executive. He had devoted all his skills in better knowing party leaders and cadres. He knew exactly who had to be given which position in the party, and who should be given the ticket to run for the office. After that his favorite pass-time was reading newspapers and watching movies. The responsibility of handling the party came to him because Girija Prasad Koirala wanted to hand over the baton within his own family. Had GP Koirala found a better candidate within the family, Sushil would have ended-up being the king-maker within the party.
Even after becoming elected party president in 2010, he was not sure he would become the Prime Minister. As he was a true nationalist, he had taken appropriate stance in favor of the country, which was considered a deterrent to become the Prime Minister. However, after the elections of the second Constituent Assembly in February 2014, there was no roadblock for him to become the executive head of the country.
During his premiership Koirala had to face many difficulties, the worst of them the earthquake of April 25th, 2015 and umpteen aftershocks. On top of that the challenge to bring out the constitution was as big. Managing a balance within the party was another test. It was definitely not easy for an ageing Koirala to grapple with so much. But he had mastered the technique of dealing problems as they appeared. He was never excited, never nervous. He had a unique style of pretending, people were never sure whether he was grasping the issue or not. In fact, he would behave sometimes as if he did not understand anything, while he was well aware of the underlying issues. At times he would talk about certain things and people would think he had no idea of what he was talking about. Sometimes, he did not understand the issue but would not let people down by saying so.
Late Koirala had special affinity for party cadres. He had tremendous appetite for meetings with cadres. Every day after breakfast he would come down to his living room-cum-office at 8:30 and meet dozens of groups who came with hundreds of issues. He was comfortable with those people and pacified them with his charming smile and a pat on the shoulder. He definitely had magical touch with his cadres.
Koirala always favored meeting foreigners, maybe because his English was more comprehensible than Nepali. People wondered how come he was less understandable speaking Nepali after an operation to remove tongue cancer. It could be because of his affection for English. For his personal readings also he always favored English newspapers over vernaculars.
It was Sushil Koirala's strong commitment that helped bring the constitution. But before the promulgation of the constitution, his critics blamed him for trying to delay the process and conspiring to remain in the position for long. In fact, he didn't want to continue after the promulgation of the constitution, and he did not want to delay the process. He was in favor of giving a few more days to resolve complicated issues, which was wrongly portrayed as his greed for power.
Koirala would have a spotless record, had he not filed his candidacy for Prime Minister against KP Sharma Oli after the promulgation of the constitution. Many people blamed him for supposedly acting on India's interest. In fact, he had put his career on line only because he thought it would help with the resolution of the Madheshi issue and lifting of the blockade under his captaincy. But he was never in favor of any other country except his own motherland. If he had been closer to India, he would not have ended up being the only Prime Minister who was not invited by India during his tenure.
It is always easy to blame people in retrospect. But it is difficult to take the right decision at the right time. A moderately educated and simple man like Sushil Koirala achieved the feat that many intellectuals and smart people have failed to. It all happened due to his dedication, commitment and strong affinity to democratic values and principles. The honesty, integrity and simplicity were his tools to get through the hurdles.
The author was the press adviser of former Prime Minister Sushil Koirala
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