Nepali Congress

The Nepali Congress was formed in India in 1946 with the merger of Nepali National Congress and Nepal Democratic Party. The party has been at the forefront of Nepal's democratic struggles and has also been a key player in the country's limited democratic exercise since. It is currently led by Prime Minister (PM) Girija Prasad Koirala. The Nepali Congress was catapulted to power in 1959 by a landslide victory.

The royal coup of 1960 led to the imprisonment of Nepali Congress leader Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and other pary members. Many other members of the party sought refuge in India. Although political parties were banned from1960 to 1963 and continued to be outlawed during the panchayat system, the Nepali Congress Party persevered. In the 1980 referendum, the Nepali Congress supported multiparty democracy in opposition to the panchayat system. In 1981 the party boycotted the Rashtriya Panchayat elections and rejected the new government. The death of B.P. Koirala in 1982 considerably weakened the party. Although the party also boycotted the 1986 elections to the Rashtriya Panchayat, its members were allowed to run in the 1987 local elections.

In defiance of the ban on demonstrations, the Nepali Congress organized mass rallies joining hands with different communist factions in January 1990 that ultimately triggered the people's pro-democracy movement I. Following the defeat of party leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai by the communists in the 1991 parliamentary elections, Girija Prasad Koirala was chosen by the Nepali Congress Party as leader of its Parliamentary Board. In the late 1990s a factional conflict emerged in the party, leading to the formation of a splinter-group, Nepali Congress-Democratic, which was led by Sher Bahadur Deuba. On September 25, 2007, Nepali Congress-Democratic unified with the mother party. Girija Prasad Koirala, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Sher Bahadur Deuba top the party protocol. The name of the party remains Nepali Congress.

Goals

Nepali Congress was established as a centrist party with a reformist agenda. The Nepali Congress governments have sought to liberalize society through a democratic process. The party has been an advocate of constitutional reforms and a broad-based policy of national reconciliation. In the 1980s, the Nepali Congress abandoned its socialistic economic program in favor of a mixed economy, privatization and market economy. Its foreign policy orientation is nonalignment.

Platform

Nepali Congress party upholds socio-democratic ideology. It believes social justice is a path to economic prosperity.

The party believes that the private sector should benefit from economic freedom, through the creation of new opportunities.

Nepali Congress believes development should be people-oriented, and should focus on the opportunities for education, skill development, training, right to information, expansion of health services and a strong national campaign for eradication of poverty.

The party also emphasizes on the respect for individual freedom, dignity and opportunity based on skill and capacity.

The party is for decentralized administration and development of local leadership for a corruption-free administration.

The party stresses on creation of new opportunities to increase employment for the Nepalese people.

It is for empowerment of women and women's rights to paternal property.

The party seeks modernization and introduction of new technologies in agriculture to raise agricultural productivity.

Summary of Manifesto

Nepali Congress (NC) is set to contest in the Constituent Assembly (CA) election with a vision to turn Nepal into in federal democratic republic, with president as head of state and Prime Minister as the executive. According to the party's manifesto, the president will be elected by members of the central and federal legislature. The party has adopted the policy of ensuring people's right to vote in periodic elections, multiparty competition, power distribution, constitutional balance, independent judiciary, free press, rule of law as well as a responsible, transparent and inclusive system of governance with proportional representatives.

The party states that Nepal will be turned into federal country with autonomous regions. The party manifesto proposes a three-tier government - central, provincial and local. The center will have a bicameral parliament and federal states will have unicameral parliaments.

It further states that the party is for autonomous federal states based on pluralism, national integrity, geography, population, natural resources and economic viability. However, the number and size of the federal states would be decided by the CA on the basis of the recommendation of a commission that will be formed for restructuring the state.

The party is for multi-party democratic system of governance, constitutional federal democracy, inclusive democracy, peaceful and sustainable democracy, prosperous and advanced democracy, and democracy to promote national unity among parties with intra-party democracy and transparency. The party says that an inclusive and constitutional federal democracy will be the symbol of national unity.

Its manifesto further says that the people will not accept ideology, philosophy or practice that supports militarism, totalitarianism or religious autonomy.

The party is for a secular and multi-linguistic state. Nepali language will be lingua franca and official language at the centre.

The manifesto stresses on the foreign investment and open market economy.

The party has said it is in favor of implementing the upper Tamakoshi, West Seti, Arun III and Upper Karnali hydropower projects to generate 5,000 megawatts of electricity within 10 years.

The party has proposed the democratization of Nepal Army by making it inclusive and professional as well as answerable to the central government.