Kathmandu, March 5
After the demise of Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, Ramchandra Poudel has assumed the position of NC’s Acting President. Through the 13th NC general convention, he wants to become the full-fledged chief of the party. If Poudel manages to do this, the 71-year-old leader can heave a sigh of relief towards the end of his five-decade-long political career.
Poudel has been playing a coordinative role in the party for years. He has worked as government minister, and also discharged his duties as NC general secretary and vice-president. But he has not been able to hold topmost positions in the party and the government. This is the first time — and probably the last time — Ramchandra is vying for party presidency. So, this race is very crucial for Poudel.
16 and fired up against tyranny
When King Mahendra jailed Nepali Congress leader and Prime Minister BP Koirala about 55 years ago, Poudel, then 16, entered politics. Since then, he has been in politics. When Koirala return from exile in India, Poudel worked closely with him. At that time on, Poudel had already started playing coordinative role in the party.
Poudel often says he helped bring peace between leaders having differences during his youth. Poudel claims he helped bridge the divide between BP (then based in Varanasi) and Subarna Shumsher (based in Kolkata).
“When the Congress was in crisis, many of my friends left me. But I remained firm in my belief,” Poudel says.
Born 71 years ago in Bahunpokhara, Tanahun, Poudel got into politics when he was 16. Poudel constantly says he entered politics after King Mahendra imprisoned then PM BP Koirala in 1960’s.
Poudel took part in the armed struggle that Nepali Congress launched in the 60’s. The year 1963 saw him as a campaigner for the free students’ movement, four years later he got elected as president of the Student Union’s Saraswati Campus chapter. A year later, he got elected as general secretary of the Democratic Socialist Youth League. He is a founding central member of the Nepal Students’ Union that came into being in 1970.
In 1988, Poudel became central working commitee member of the Nepali Congress.
After the end of the Panchayat regime and the establishment of democracy in 1990, Poudel got elected as a Member of Parliament from Tanahun constituency-1. In the government formed after the elections, Poudel became Minister for Local Development. Three years later, Poudel became Minister for Local Development and Agriculture. In the mid-term elections held in 1995, Poudel got elected from Tanahun constituency-2. Then he worked as Speaker of the House of Representatives for five years. In 1996 general elections, Poudel again got elected as Member of Parliament from Tanahun-2. A year later, he became deputy prime minister, holding the portfolios of Home and Communications as well. In 2006, he became Congress general secretary.
After the Maoists joined the peace process, Pouel worked as coordinator of the Peace Secretariat. In 2007, he became Minister for Peace and Reconstruction of a government that also included the Maoists. A year later, Poudel became Nepali Congress vice-president. In the parliamentary elections held the same year, Poudel again got elected as lawmaker form Tanahun constituency-2. In 2009, he got elected as Congress parliamentary party leader. In second Constituent Assembly elections held in 2014, he got elected as Constituent Assembly member.
In course of his struggle against autocracy, he has spent 13 years in jail. He has obtained MA (Nepali) degree from Tribhuvan University and also obtained Shastri (Sanskrit) degree from the TU. The Poudel couple have five children.
The Congress leader has authored three books.
Some people say Poudel had almost joined the Sher Bahadur Deuba camp when the Nepali Congress split. According to them, Poudel stayed with the Girija Prasad Koirala-led faction when Girija assured to make him a leader of the ‘mother party’.
Call this a blot of sorts in Poudel’s political career. Despite winning elections from Tanahun, Poudel sufferedd loss after loss after loss in the race for prime ministership. But it will be unfair to blame him alone for the losses he suffered 17 times, the constitutional system of that time is also to blame. The race for prime ministership began in July 2011. There were three candidates: Poudel from the NC, Prachanda from the UCPN-Maoist and Jhala Nath Khanal from the CPN-UML. But none could get required votes, so the three contested the race for seven times.
In the eighth round, Prachanda quit the race. Poudel contested the race with Khanal for 17 times, but there was no winner at the end of this race. This led to amendment of regulations related to the prime ministerial race. In the poll conducted later, Jhala Nath got elected!
Strengths
- Long and untiring association with politics is his political capital. Poudel has involved himself in every political struggle waged since 1960’s and discharged party-assigned duties honestly
- In the Nepali Congress, Poudel is considered as a thinker of sorts
- He did not court any serious controversy during his ministership
- Poudel is considered as a leader with a clean image, for he is not involved in corruption
- Ramchandra did not form his own group when groupism was flourishing in the Nepali Congress. Some people take it as his weakness. Rather, he helped settle disputes between these groups
- Poudel has left his mark in national politics. He sticks to the party’s official line during inter-party talks
Weaknesses
- Party cadres often and critics often accuse him of being narrow-minded.
- Poudel seems to be indulging in family politics these days. He exerted influence to appoint his son Chintan Poudel in a government position. He had played a key role in the appointment of his Yuvaraj Bhusal, with whom he has familial ties. People believe pressure from his family has influenced many of his decisions
- He does not have a long line of leaders and cadres behind him. Poudel cannot/does not bother to stand for cadres and leaders loyal to him. So, most of them do not remain with Poudel for long. Poudel often faces charges that he is only willing to secure his position.
- Poudel is not a maverick politician. Many commentators say he has not been able to bag important positions because he does not know how manipulative politics works
