KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress has expelled Bikram Khanal, General Secretary of the party’s Lumbini Province Committee, for one year.
The disciplinary action comes after it was proven that Khanal worked against the party’s official candidate during the 2022 general elections.
A letter sent by Anand Prasad Dhungana, coordinator of the Central Disciplinary Committee, to Lumbini Province President Amar Singh Pun stated that Khanal was expelled under Article 34 (1)(a)(b)(d) and Sub-Article 8(g) of the party statute (amended 2017), citing an unsatisfactory explanation and credible evidence of misconduct.
The move follows rising tension within the party, especially during the ongoing Central Working Committee meeting, where influential businessman and party leader Binod Chaudhary accused Khanal and leaders close to Shekhar Koirala of attempting to defeat him in the last elections by supporting rival candidate Hridayesh Tripathi.
“In booth after booth, people were mobilized in support of Hridayesh Tripathi against me. Should someone holding the post of General Secretary in Lumbini be allowed to act this way, and should leaders who support such people be trusted to lead this party in the future?” Chaudhary reportedly questioned Koirala during the meeting.
Khanal is known to be closely aligned with Shekhar Koirala. The issue escalated into a heated debate within the Central Committee, prompting Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba to take disciplinary action.
Chaudhary also criticized Koirala’s faction, saying their groupism had crossed all limits and demanded action against Khanal. In return, Koirala questioned whether Chaudhary even met the basic qualifications to be a central member, citing a lack of ten years of active party involvement.
He compared the situation to the past, when Sujata Koirala, despite her ambitions, was not allowed to run for a central committee position due to similar eligibility issues during the leadership contest between Girija Prasad Koirala and Deuba.
Khanal’s expulsion marks a fresh flashpoint in the ongoing internal rivalry between the Deuba and Koirala factions in the Nepali Congress.
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