Conventional wisdom

The Nepali Congress again has a chance to show the way to other democratic parties.

For Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, a past master at power politics, it makes perfect sense to push his party’s general convention beyond December 2025, the current deadline. The five-time prime minister has signed an agreement with KP Sharma Oli, the current prime minister, whereby Oli will step down in July 2026. Then Deuba will be the prime minister and, a year and a half later, take the country into the November 2027 national elections. But if Deuba hands over Congress leadership this December, his hold on the party will collapse. In this case, he might not even get to be prime minister again as the new Congress president will be calling all the shots. Deuba thus wants to defer the general convention at least until he is the prime minister again. Meanwhile, he will use the remaining time as Congress president to ensure at least a few of his trusted lieutenants get top party posts and, most importantly, to secure a key party position for his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba.