Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress, colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a social democratic largest political party in Nepal. With 870,106 members as of the party's 14th general convention in December 2021, it stands as largest party by membership in Nepal. In June 2023, the party started online membership since the emergence of youth leaders in vital posts to attract youths to the party. The party remained the only among older parties to complete generation transition in leadership electing Gagan Thapa as party president. The party had won 89 seats in the 2022 general election and remained as the largest parliamentary group in the House of Representatives of the dissolved Second Federal Parliament.
There have been seven Nepali Congress prime ministers and the party has led the government fourteen times. Matrika Prasad Koirala, a founding member of the party was appointed as the first commoner prime minister following the end of the Rana regime in 1951. Subarna Shumsher Rana, another founding member of the party was appointed prime minister in 1958. Congress is the only party in Nepal to have been elected with a majority, with the party forming majority governments in 1959, 1991 and 1999 under B.P. Koirala, Girija Prasad Koirala and K.P. Bhattarai respectively with B.P. Koirala becoming the first elected prime minister of the country. The party also formed coalition governments in 1995 and 1998 with Girija Prasad Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime ministers. The party emerged as the largest party following the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections and led a coalition government under Sushil Koirala. After the promulgation of the constitution in 2015, the party led coalition governments under Deuba in 2017 and 2021.
The party was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Nepali National Congress and the Nepal Democratic Congress along democratic socialist lines. NC prime ministers led four governments between the fall of the Rana dynasty and the start of the Panchayat era, including the first democratically elected government of Nepal, after the 1959 general election.
Background
In 1947, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, published an appeal for a unified struggle of Nepali people against the Rana regime. That same year, some Nepalese met in Benaras and formed an organization by the name All Indian Nepali National Congress where an ad-hoc committee was established. The initial officers were chairman Devi Prasad Sapkota, vice-president Balchandra Sharma, general secretary Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, and public minister Gopal Prasad Bhattarai, publicity minister. Its Working Committee included Batuk Prasad Bhattarai, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, and Narendra Regmi, while its coordinator was Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala.Around the same time, Nepalese located in Calcutta formed another organization by the name All Indian Nepali Gorkha Congress whose chairman was Dharma Narayan Pradhan. Koirala travelled extensively to places such as Benaras, Calcutta, Darjeeling, Assam, Bhagsu, and Dehradun, and established contact with the Nepalese there. He met with Ganesh Man Singh during the same period. Nepalese representatives from different areas of Nepal and India organized one session in Calcutta. Koirala, Dilli Raman Regmi, Dharma Narayan Pradhan, and Dhan Man Singh Pariyar were present. In the same session, dropping Akhil Bharatiya from its name, the organization was named Nepali National Congress. Tanka Prasad Acharya, who was facing a life-sentence in Kathmandu, was made its chairman. The flag was square-shaped with white, blue, and red colors in succession, with the moon and the sun in its center.
The major four proposals passed by the session were to assist Indians in their independence movement, support Vietnam struggling for freedom against French colonization, ask for the immediate release of imprisoned members of the Nepal Praja Parishad, and initiate a non-violence movement in Nepal for the establishment of an accountable ruling system. The organization's modus operandi was chosen, and attached itself to the civil conscience process in Nepal by establishing Tanka Prasad Acharya as its chairman.
History
Nepali Congress formation, 1946–1950
The Nepali Congress Party was formed by the merger of Nepali National Congress and Nepal Democratic Congress. The Nepali National Congress was founded by BP Koirala in Calcutta, India on 25 January 1947. The Nepal Democratic Congress was founded by Subarna Shamsher Rana in Calcutta on 4 August 1948. The two parties merged on 10 April 1950 to form the Nepali Congress and Koirala became its first president. The party called for an armed revolution against the Rana regime.During the Bairgania Conference in Bairgania, Bihar, on 27 September 1950 the Nepali Congress announced an armed revolution against the Rana regime. The president of the party also announced the liquidation of operations in India and that the party would operate only inside Nepal.
After King Tribhuvan took refuge inside the Indian Embassy on 6 November 1950. The Congress Liberation Army decided to take this opportunity to launch attacks against the regime before the King "left Nepalese soil". Matrika and Bisheshwor Prasad Koirala and Subarna Shamsher Rana flew to Purnia, Bihar. They called the commanders posted at different locations inside Nepal to prepare for armed strikes near the Nepal-India border.
On 11 November 1950, at midnight Birgunj was attacked, and by 12 November it fell to the Nepali Congress and the first "People's Government" was declared. The liberation army was able to control most of the eastern hills of Nepal and the town of Tansen in Palpa. After pressure by the Indian government and the mass movement by the Nepali Congress and other political parties, the Rana government finally submitted to their demands and King Tribhuvan returned to the throne, replacing King Gyanendra, who had been crowned king after King Tribhuvan left for India.
Transitional government, 1951–1959
After the fall of the Rana government, the Nepali Congress led three of the five governments formed before the elections. Matrika Prasad Koirala, the first commoner to become Prime Minister, led the government from 1951 to 1952 and 1953–1955 and Subarna Shamsher Rana led the government from 1958 to 1959. The much delayed elections were finally held in February 1959 and Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala became the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal after the Nepali Congress won 74 of 109 seats in the parliament.Panchayat government, 1960–1990
Following a royal coup by King Mahendra in 1960, many leaders of the party, including Koirala, Rana and General Secretary Hora Prasad Joshi, were imprisoned or exiled; others took political refuge in India. Although political parties were prohibited from 1960 to 1989 and remained outlawed during the Panchayat system under the aegis of the Associations and Organizations Act of 1963, the Nepali Congress persisted. The party placed great emphasis on eliminating the feudal economy and building a basis for socioeconomic development. It proposed nationalizing basic industries and instituting progressive taxes on land, urban housing, salaries, profits and foreign investments. While in exile, the Nepali Congress served as the nucleus around which other opposition groups clustered and instigated popular uprisings in the Hill and Terai regions. During this time, the Nepali Congress refused the overtures of a radical faction of the Communist Party of Nepal for a tactical alliance.The Nepali Congress demonstrated endurance, but defection, factionalism, and external pressures weakened it over time. Nevertheless, it continued to be the only organized party to press for democratization. In the 1980 government system referendum, it supported the multiparty system in opposition to the panchayat system. The party boycotted the 1981 general election and rejected the new government. The death in 1982 of Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala further weakened the party.
After the party boycotted the 1986 general election to the Rastriya Panchayat, its members were allowed to run in the 1987 Nepalese local elections. In defiance of the demonstration ban, the Nepali Congress organized mass rallies with the communist factions in January 1990 that ultimately triggered the pro-democracy movement.
Post-Panchayat government, 1991–2002
After the Jana Andolan I, party president Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was invited to form an interim coalition government. In the 1991 general election, the Nepali Congress won 110 of 205 seats but Bhattarai lost his seat and yielded the position of prime minister to Girija Prasad Koirala who held his seat until 1994.During the 1994 general election, the Nepali Congress lost its majority to Communist Party of Nepal. The CPN lacked a majority and formed a minority government. After 46 parliamentarians from the CPN quit to form the Communist Party of Nepal, the Nepali Congress formed their own government with the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Sadbhawana Party. After CPN offered Lokendra Bahadur Chand the position of prime minister, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party led a government with the CPN. Internal problems within the Rastriya Prajatantra Party caused one faction led by Surya Bahadur Thapa to lead a government with Nepali Congress and Nepal Sadbhawana Party.
Girija Prasad Koirala again became the Prime Minister in April 1998, leading a Congress minority government after Rastriya Prajatantra and Nepal Sadbhawana quit the government. Eventually, they got support from the CPN and after their withdrawal the CPN and Nepal Sadbhawana.
File:Krishna bhattarai.jpg|thumb|197x197px|Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, former party president and Prime Minister of Nepal
During the 1999 general election, Girija Prasad Koirala stepped aside in favour of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, who returned as Prime Minister when the Nepali Congress won 111 out of 205 House seats. Bhattarai resigned as prime minister on 16 March 2000 after conflicts between himself and supporters of Girija Prasad Koirala. In the party's first open leadership election, the parliamentarians selected Girija Prasad Koirala as their leader by 69-43 votes over Sher Bahadur Deuba. Accordingly, King Birendra designated Girija Prasad Koirala as prime minister on 20 March.
On 8 August 2000, Koirala dismissed the Minister of Water Resources, Khum Bahadur Khadka, for calling for Koirala's resignation. Although Koirala beat back another challenge by Deuba's supporters at a party convention in January 2001, he resigned as Prime Minister on 19 July. Deuba then defeated Secretary General Sushil Koirala, 72–40, for the party leadership and was designated prime minister by the king.
In May 2002, the party's disciplinary committee expelled Deuba for failing to consult the party before seeking a parliamentary extension of the country's state of emergency. Deuba's supporters then expelled Koirala at a general convention in June. Deuba registered his faction as the Nepali Congress, following a decision by the Election Commission that the Koirala faction held ownership of the name Nepali Congress, taking 37 central committee members and 40 of the party's lower house representatives with him.File:Girija P koirala.jpg|thumb|213x213px|Girija Prasad Koirala, former party president and Prime Minister of Nepal