KATHMANDU: Senior Nepali Congress leader Dr Shekhar Koirala has acknowledged that efforts to keep the party united have failed, while alleging that a capital-centric national and international conspiracy played a role in weakening and splitting the party.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Koirala said the “Bhagirath-like” effort to keep the Nepali Congress intact had not succeeded, forcing the party into a difficult phase just weeks ahead of the March 5 elections.
“The attempt to take the Nepali Congress to the elections as a united force could not succeed,” he said, pointing to a combination of visible and invisible internal contradictions, external interference and organisational weaknesses. He claimed that political forces based in Kathmandu, along with international actors, had been actively working to undermine the party.
Despite the gravity of the split, Koirala said he did not want to further blur national politics by assigning blame. “We have all fallen short somewhere. An objective assessment of recent events and individual roles should be left to history,” he said.
Recalling the legacy of BP Koirala, the party’s founding leader, he said BP had also viewed divisions within the party as part of the “game of destiny” during turbulent times. “Even if our failure to move forward together is a harsh reality, the responsibility to protect the glory of our eight-decade-old party now rests on all of us,” he added.
Koirala stressed that only a revival of organisational energy could allow the party to fulfil the responsibility handed down by senior leaders and martyrs. He described the Nepali Congress as a party built by ordinary workers, shaped by shared history, shared leadership and sacrifices made for democracy.
Noting that public trust in the Congress had endured even through past splits, Koirala urged party leaders and cadres to return to the doorsteps of the people and seek their support once again for the journey towards prosperity and democratic stability.
He also made it clear that the process of internal reform would not be halted by the current crisis. Calling on all factions and tendencies within the party, he repeated his appeal: “Let us all return home, return to the Congress.”
“This is not about victory or defeat for one side,” Koirala said. “We can move forward only from a win–win position for everyone if we want to safeguard the historic role of the Nepali Congress.”
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