Nepali Congress leader Gagan Thapa, for he is expected (and he has also promised) to do what others haven’t. There is a disparity between what he can do realistically and what he will be required to do. When he was appointed Health Minister on Friday, most youths erupted in jubilation. The congratulatory messages showered on him do not only sing his praise but also warn against becoming no different to other politicians. He has been called ‘the last beacon of hope’ and his first stint his ‘last chance.’Such expectations from an untested leader can be dangerous because great expectations can fast turn into delusions. However, both expectations and warnings have their basis in Gagan’s political rise. Gagan Thapa first caught public attention when around 2003 the news of his party president removing him from General Secretary of Nepal Student Union broke. This “unceremonious” removal projected him as the victim.Gagan soon built the image of a rebel. He openly opposed the opaque and dictatorial decision-making style of party president Girija Prasad Koirala, at a time no Congress leader dared to speak up in front of GPK. While GPK’s Congress was still adamant on constitutional monarchy, Gagan demanded a republic, the audacity that in 2005 landed him in jail on the charge of sedition. It was during the 2006 people’s movement that people saw him for what he was: a courageous youth leader and a leader who spoke people’s mind.