Put Nation Before Factional Games

A change in government is imminent in Bagmati Province due to internal disputes within the Nepali Congress (NC). The latest development follows the election of Indra Baniya as the new leader of the party’s provincial parliamentary committee, defeating Chief Minister Bahadur Singh Lama. The need to elect a new parliamentary leader through a formal vote highlights the depth of internal rift within the party. With Baniya’s victory, his appointment as Chief Minister is now all but certain. This is merely the latest example of growing political infighting in Nepal. Almost all major parties are currently grappling with internal discord. Internal strife is nothing new for the NC. In 1991, factionalism within the party—divided between groups of 36 and 74 lawmakers—forced then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to call mid-term elections. The 1994 elections produced a hung parliament, giving the CPN-UML’s Man Mohan Adhikari the opportunity to become Nepal’s first communist Prime Minister. The factionalism that emerged barely a few years after the restoration of democracy in 1990 remains a persistent challenge in our national politics, with leaders frequently shifting allegiances and forming camps based on personal convenience. This must stop, and our leaders must put the nation before factional games.