BP Koirala Memorial Day Image Over Ideology

42 years after his passing, BP Koirala’s principles remain relevant, but his party seems to prioritize his image over his ideology.

July 21, 2024, 6:18 p.m.

The Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament, is now supporting one communist party against another in the name to uphold democracy and political stability. In 2006, Girija Prasad Koirala, his brother, initiated a trend of politicians prioritizing power over ideology, which brought communist radicals to the forefront of politics.

This trend has been continued by his disciple, Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has aligned with the communists. The NC's members are no longer loyal to BP, and those close to him have been ousted by the new generation of leaders.

Veteran Congress leaders like Govinda Raj Joshi, Taranath Ranabhat, and Daman Dhungana are no longer in the picture, and even dynamic young leaders like Dr. Minendra Rijal have been sidelined.

Joshi, who dedicated his life to building the party, is the only politician still upholding BP Koirala’s ideas. Dr. Shashanka Koirala, BP’s younger son, is also unable to carry on his father’s ideology, and Dr. Shekhar Koirala lost the presidential election last time.

He is now attempting a comeback with support from Girija Prasad Koirala’s daughter Sujata Koirala, but lacks a team to demonstrate his legitimacy as a candidate.

Regardless of who replaces Deuba in the upcoming elections, the Nepali Congress will never be a party ideologically nurtured by BP Koirala. When BP Koirala passed away 42 years ago, the Nepali Congress was the largest opposition party and the only party that challenged the authority as a liberal centrist party. Its influence was felt worldwide, including in Nepal. Despite ruling the country multiple times and producing four prime ministers in the last 42 years, the Nepali Congress is now virtually devoid of ideology.

In the most recent elections, the NC leaders asserted that the party played a crucial role in the transformation of Nepal from a monarchy to a republic, from a unitary state to a federation, and from a religious nation to a secular state. However, the voters did not support them, instead granting a two-thirds majority to Nepal's communist alliance. The late leader BP Koirala, who advocated for national reconciliation with centrist democracy, refused to form a close alliance with the communists.

His successors, on the other hand, engaged in conflict with the monarchy while forming an alliance with the communists. His brother, GP Koirala, even went as far as agreeing to the Maoist agenda.

Despite the fact that the general public has yet to fully comprehend the current situation, some leaders have started to openly express their concerns. NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is one of them, stating, "We failed to honor our leader BP Koirala, who consistently opposed forming an alliance with the communists."

As the ruling party, the NC has already begun to deteriorate ideologically by treating memorial days as mere rituals, without any genuine faith and commitment to the ideology of the party's founder, BP Koirala. As warned by BP Koirala in his memoirs, the Nepali Congress will become a power-hungry force if it abandons centrist ideology and reconciliation. This is precisely what has been happening in the 42 years since his passing.

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