To Rebuild the Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa Must First Reform It

Por Biswas Baral — The Diplomat

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Recently re-elected president of the Nepali Congress, Thapa vowed to end the culture of nepotism and groupism in the party and to open it to a new generation of leaders.

Gagan Thapa addresses the Nepali Congress party’s 15th general convention in Kathmandu, Nepal, Oct. 5, 2026.

Among the most charismatic political leaders of his generation, Gagan Thapa was long talked of as a prime minister-in-waiting. As he rose up the ranks of the Nepali Congress — the social democratic party that has been the country’s dominant political force for most of the post-1990 period — this advocate of value-based politics with unmatched oratory skills seemed destined to lead his party and country.

Then came the Gen Z movement. In just two days of protests in September 2025, the movement upended the old political order. K.P. Oli, the communist prime minister at the time, had to run for his life. The top Congress leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba, was beaten black and blue. Along with the homes of hundreds of other political leaders, Thapa’s Kathmandu home was torched and he too had to go into hiding.

The Gen Z movement would also act as a catalyst for change in the Congress. In its aftermath, a set of second-generation leaders under Thapa finally dared to revolt and wrest party leadership away from Deuba, then age 79. Yet most Nepalis saw this as too little, too late, and the Congress under Thapa performed dismally in the first post-uprising national polls held in March 2026.

Today, the Congress is a diminished force, occupying just 38 seats in the 275-member lower House. Meanwhile, with 182 seats, the new Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which took ownership of the Gen Z movement, garnered a near two-thirds majority.

When the Congress was trounced in the March 2026 polls, old party leaders put the blame for the defeat on Thapa and his “mistimed” revolt that was orchestrated on the eve of the March elections. But the RSP was riding a wave of discontent with the established political parties, and Congress under its old leadership would arguably have fared even worse in the elections.

Now Thapa, 50, has been re-elected party president by its just-concluded general convention. While asking for votes, he vowed to end the culture of nepotism and groupism in the party and to open the outfit to a new generation of leaders.

His other proposals include a system of primaries to pick the party’s electoral candidates and amending the constitution charter to limit any individual to two terms as prime minister. Thapa’s proposed reforms, if implemented, could open up new democratic space, both in the party and in the national polity.

This is in sharp contrast to the centralizing and power-hoarding tendencies of Sher Bahadur Deuba, the erstwhile party president, who did much to discredit the image of a party that was long associated with principled leaders like B.P. Koirala and Ganesh Man Singh.

But Thapa has a monumental challenge on his hands. The RSP has captured much of the political space once occupied by the Congress. Under party chair Rabi Lamichhane and senior leader Balendra Shah, who is also Nepal’s prime minister, the RSP remains very popular. It is thus expected to replicate its federal poll success in the local and provincial elections scheduled for 2027.

The old rivalry between Congress, the old champion of liberal democratic values, and the communists appears increasingly irrelevant to Nepali voters today. Now it is upon Thapa’s party to show the skeptical electorate what liberal democratic values mean in practice, and why a reformed Congress can uphold them.

The other big challenge for Thapa would be to bring back into the party’s fold the disgruntled leaders who still back former party president Deuba. If a big chunk of old Congress stalwarts continue to side with Deuba, Thapa will have a tough time rebuilding the party organization. His efforts to reinvigorate the Congress will be dealt a further blow if the Supreme Court, which is currently considering a case on the legality of the Thapa-led Congress, chooses to identify the Deuba faction as the authentic Congress party.

Gagan Thapa has many strengths. He has worked his way up the ranks of the Congress. However, Thapa’s rise came even as the party’s top leaders were openly engaging in self-centered politics and corruption. In the eyes of many young Nepalis, he preferred to play it safe and bided his time. But Nepali youths were less patient — and revolted. Many thus reckon Thapa’s time has passed.

Whether or not that is true, it is important for the Congress under Thapa to continue to be electorally competitive in Nepali politics. Besides its role as the champion of liberal democratic values, a strong Congress will also make the RSP accountable.

With the discrediting of the Congress under the old leadership, the RSP has come to occupy the liberal democratic space without doing much to demonstrate its commitment to liberal values. In just six months in office, the new RSP government has taken a number of questionable decisions — from removing squatters without due process to jailing political leaders on flimsy legal grounds — that make people suspect the party’s democratic credentials.

Thapa has proven his credentials as a fighter for democratic rights, as a competent administrator during his tenure as health minister, and as a voice of reason in the cacophonous Nepali political landscape. Now, for the first time, he will be tasked with rebuilding a party organization. But to do so, he will first have to dismantle the old, ossified structures and ways of thinking that have held the party back in recent times.

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Among the most charismatic political leaders of his generation, Gagan Thapa was long talked of as a prime minister-in-waiting. As he rose up the ranks of the Nepali Congress — the social democratic party that has been the country’s dominant political force for most of the post-1990 period — this advocate of value-based politics with unmatched oratory skills seemed destined to lead his party and country.

Then came the Gen Z movement. In just two days of protests in September 2025, the movement upended the old political order. K.P. Oli, the communist prime minister at the time, had to run for his life. The top Congress leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba, was beaten black and blue. Along with the homes of hundreds of other political leaders, Thapa’s Kathmandu home was torched and he too had to go into hiding.

The Gen Z movement would also act as a catalyst for change in the Congress. In its aftermath, a set of second-generation leaders under Thapa finally dared to revolt and wrest party leadership away from Deuba, then age 79. Yet most Nepalis saw this as too little, too late, and the Congress under Thapa performed dismally in the first post-uprising national polls held in March 2026.

Today, the Congress is a diminished force, occupying just 38 seats in the 275-member lower House. Meanwhile, with 182 seats, the new Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which took ownership of the Gen Z movement, garnered a near two-thirds majority.

When the Congress was trounced in the March 2026 polls, old party leaders put the blame for the defeat on Thapa and his “mistimed” revolt that was orchestrated on the eve of the March elections. But the RSP was riding a wave of discontent with the established political parties, and Congress under its old leadership would arguably have fared even worse in the elections.

Now Thapa, 50, has been re-elected party president by its just-concluded general convention. While asking for votes, he vowed to end the culture of nepotism and groupism in the party and to open the outfit to a new generation of leaders.

His other proposals include a system of primaries to pick the party’s electoral candidates and amending the constitution charter to limit any individual to two terms as prime minister. Thapa’s proposed reforms, if implemented, could open up new democratic space, both in the party and in the national polity.

This is in sharp contrast to the centralizing and power-hoarding tendencies of Sher Bahadur Deuba, the erstwhile party president, who did much to discredit the image of a party that was long associated with principled leaders like B.P. Koirala and Ganesh Man Singh.

But Thapa has a monumental challenge on his hands. The RSP has captured much of the political space once occupied by the Congress. Under party chair Rabi Lamichhane and senior leader Balendra Shah, who is also Nepal’s prime minister, the RSP remains very popular. It is thus expected to replicate its federal poll success in the local and provincial elections scheduled for 2027.

The old rivalry between Congress, the old champion of liberal democratic values, and the communists appears increasingly irrelevant to Nepali voters today. Now it is upon Thapa’s party to show the skeptical electorate what liberal democratic values mean in practice, and why a reformed Congress can uphold them.

The other big challenge for Thapa would be to bring back into the party’s fold the disgruntled leaders who still back former party president Deuba. If a big chunk of old Congress stalwarts continue to side with Deuba, Thapa will have a tough time rebuilding the party organization. His efforts to reinvigorate the Congress will be dealt a further blow if the Supreme Court, which is currently considering a case on the legality of the Thapa-led Congress, chooses to identify the Deuba faction as the authentic Congress party.

Gagan Thapa has many strengths. He has worked his way up the ranks of the Congress. However, Thapa’s rise came even as the party’s top leaders were openly engaging in self-centered politics and corruption. In the eyes of many young Nepalis, he preferred to play it safe and bided his time. But Nepali youths were less patient — and revolted. Many thus reckon Thapa’s time has passed.

Whether or not that is true, it is important for the Congress under Thapa to continue to be electorally competitive in Nepali politics. Besides its role as the champion of liberal democratic values, a strong Congress will also make the RSP accountable.

With the discrediting of the Congress under the old leadership, the RSP has come to occupy the liberal democratic space without doing much to demonstrate its commitment to liberal values. In just six months in office, the new RSP government has taken a number of questionable decisions — from removing squatters without due process to jailing political leaders on flimsy legal grounds — that make people suspect the party’s democratic credentials.

Thapa has proven his credentials as a fighter for democratic rights, as a competent administrator during his tenure as health minister, and as a voice of reason in the cacophonous Nepali political landscape. Now, for the first time, he will be tasked with rebuilding a party organization. But to do so, he will first have to dismantle the old, ossified structures and ways of thinking that have held the party back in recent times.

Biswas Baral is a senior journalist and a columnist for The Diplomat. He writes on Nepal’s domestic politics and foreign policy.

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Fonte: The Diplomat