If we fail in the polls, we will let others lead Nepali Congress

Through structural reforms, the Gen Z spirit will be fully integrated into the party’s permanent structure.

The Nepali Congress (NC), the country’s oldest democratic political party, recently navigated a tumultuous special general convention that saw a decisive shift in its internal power dynamics. Amidst a backdrop of national unrest, marked by the Gen Z protests that challenged the very foundations of the traditional political establishment, the party is now trying to reinvent itself ahead of the March 5 snap polls. The convention, which concluded after days of intense friction between the reformist faction led by Gagan Thapa and the establishment faction led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, has elected a new working committee and signalled a generational transfer of power. In an extensive conversation with the Post ’s Purushottam Poudel and Biken K Dawadi , newly-elected General Secretary of the NC, Gururaj Ghimire breaks down the ideological and structural battles that transpired behind closed doors, the mandatory nature of the convention, and why the party must adopt an exit policy for its ageing leaders to remain relevant to a frustrated youth population. Excerpts.