ABSTRACT
In the 2013 general elections, DPT lost to PDP. Stunned, DPT held a convention on 19 July during which its coordinators and supporters made open, unprecedented and seditious attacks against the King, accusing him of interference in the elections that led to its defeat. I argue that this was the grand finale of DPT’s reformulated narrative of the powerless versus the powerful. Besides the King, DPT also attacked other agencies, like the Election Commission, Anti-corruption Commission, judiciary, media, interim government and Government of India and blamed them for its defeat. Soon after, Bhutanese began to learn of what happened that day through a video clip which went viral online. The moral outrage generated by seeing a political party go against the respected and popular King deeply pained the national psyche. DPT, however, downplayed the import and circulated a story saying that the video clip was doctored and that the minor transgressions which happened that day were forgiven. This chapter analyses the proceedings of the convention, unpacks its symbolism and exposes DPT’s flawed narrative. It argues that the reasons for DPT’s defeat are different. The allegations against the King and other institutions were unsubstantiated and driven by belief in DPT’s self-righteous conduct.
