Surendra Pandey Urges Urgent Leadership Change Within the Party
20 Jestha, Butwal – Nepali Congress leader Surendra Pandey has emphasized the urgent need for a leadership overhaul within the party. Speaking at a press conference organized by Press Chautari Rupandehi in Butwal on Wednesday, Pandey stated that the results of the recent election served as a major warning and have placed the party in a difficult position.
“The party must change its leadership as soon as possible because we are currently facing challenging circumstances,” he said. “If we fail to understand the public’s warning and remain complacent, the party will weaken even further in the days ahead.”
Pandey stressed the necessity for a radical transformation in the party’s operation style to keep pace with the evolving political and technological environment. “Reformation alone is no longer sufficient; we need a revolution—not only in leadership but also in the organizational structure,” he asserted.
According to Pandey, every leader and party worker should be prepared to relinquish their positions to facilitate this leadership change, emphasizing that the priority is changing the leadership itself rather than debating who should step down.
He recognized the current era as one dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies and called for transforming the party from its traditional physical setup into a digitally-driven organization.
Pandey pointed out that society is continually changing, and consequently, the party’s ideology, leadership development methods, and organizational culture need timely reforms. “Since Madan Bhandari’s time, the world and society have undergone significant changes, so the party must adapt as well,” he said. He remarked that during the last election, while the party reached out to voters and activists door-to-door, other parties had already contacted voters abroad by phone. Therefore, moving forward, the party must be able to communicate its ideas and agenda digitally rather than relying solely on physical meetings with voters and workers.
Acknowledging the party’s current status quo is insufficient to advance its movement, Pandey revealed that a task force has been formed to study and gather suggestions for organizational reforms.
Regarding party leadership, Pandey stated that Nepali Congress chairman KP Sharma Oli should consider stepping down after factoring in the party’s poor election results, his age, and health conditions. “The chairman himself is likely reflecting on this. He has transitioned from leading the party with 174 parliamentarians and serving as prime minister to leading a party with just 25 lawmakers. What does this declining graph imply? Can he sustain this in the remainder of his political life? I hope he takes a mature decision considering these election results, age, health, and other challenges,” he said.
Highlighting the significant challenges of lifting the party from its current situation, Pandey reiterated that all leaders and workers should be ready to step down to enable a leadership change.
‘No Innovation in the Budget’
Former Finance Minister Pandey criticized the budget presented by the government for the upcoming fiscal year, calling it uninspired. Although the budget size has increased by 25 percent, he claimed it lacks any plans for transforming the state’s nature.
He described the budget’s implementation as challenging, noting that it merely carries forward old programs with new terminology and does not announce any fundamental transformations. “The budget is just a continuation of previous plans despite the high hopes and stakes people have,” Pandey said.
Although the budget focuses on the middle class, he argued it fails to protect the interests of lower-income groups or encourage private sector investment.
He questioned how the country can progress when only 1.5 trillion out of a 21 trillion capital expenditure budget was actually spent in the current fiscal year.
Pandey firmly asserted that there is no basis for the government to meet its declared economic growth targets.