KATHMANDU, April 19: In a move that could ease tensions within the Nepali Congress (NC), senior leader Purna Bahadur Khadka has decided to stop using the title of acting president and abide by the Supreme Court (SC)’s verdict, marking a subtle but significant shift in the party’s internal power struggle.
At a meeting held at his residence on Saturday, Khadka sat down with leaders from his inner circle to reflect on the court’s decision and chart the road ahead. The tone, according to those present, was one of acceptance rather than resistance.
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Emerging from the meeting, leader Min Bishwakarma made it clear that there was no dispute over respecting the court’s ruling. Khadka, he said, had initially approached the SC in the capacity of acting president and continued to use that designation while the case was under consideration. “With the final verdict now in place, he will no longer write acting president. He is now the former acting president, and that is how he will identify himself,” Bishwakarma explained.
The acknowledgment carries both legal and political weight. For weeks, rival claims within the party had created parallel assertions of authority, with both sides continuing their activities as the issue remained sub judice. Bishwakarma framed this as a natural course of events in a contested leadership scenario. “When the case was filed, it was done under the title of acting president. Now, with the court’s decision, that chapter has closed,” he said.
More importantly, the focus appears to be shifting from contestation to consolidation. Bishwakarma suggested that the responsibility now lies with party president Gagan Thapa to steer the organisation toward unity. “The court has effectively placed the ball in Thapa’s court,” he remarked, hinting at expectations for reconciliation and leadership.
Yet, Khadka is not stepping away from political engagement. Another leader confirmed that he has called a meeting of former Central Working Committee (CWC) members aligned with him for Sunday, indicating that consultations and strategic recalibrations are already underway.
While Khadka’s decision to relinquish the acting title may not immediately resolve factional divides, it signals a willingness to move forward within the framework set by the court—potentially opening a path, however narrow, toward restoring cohesion in one of Nepal’s largest political parties.
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