Reinventing politics praxis

Only when Gagan Thapa helps reinvent the praxis of politics within NC and beyond will his gamble pay off.

Nepali Congress, the largest and oldest tree in the unkempt garden that is Nepal’s democracy, has bifurcated from its trunk, and this is no good news, even for its political rivals, let alone the Congressis themselves. Notwithstanding its intermittent creaks and cracks, the grand old party had in the past couple of decades established itself as a steadfast stickler for democracy even as the country raced through republicanism, federalism, secularism and constitutionalism. And, as the Gen Z protests rendered established political parties irrelevant, at least temporarily, the Nepali Congress showed some signs of resilience as Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma carefully crafted a narrative of reinvention. But its spectacular bifurcation at the end of the second special general convention, only the second in the party’s eight-decade history, this week has startled one and all, even as the country heads into the elections a few weeks from now.