Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has advised central committee members close to him who have been demanding that the party hold its general convention before the March 5 elections to also meet with the acting president and the general secretaries.
Among those elected from the Deuba panel in the 14th general convention, 28 central committee members are in favor of holding the general convention before the general election. Around 80 central committee members from the Deuba faction, however, want the general convention only after the elections.
The central committee remains undecided on whether to hold the general convention before or after the elections, and whether it should be a regular convention or a special general convention as demanded by 54 percent of general convention representatives. The central committee meeting is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.
The 28 central members close to Deuba have already met the party president, acting president, and General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma.
On Friday, they will also meet leader Shekhar Koirala and the leaders spearheading the signature campaign demanding a special general convention.
Central member Anggelu Sherpa said that they held talks with President Deuba on Thursday afternoon. According to him, they demanded that since the general convention must be held before the elections, the schedule be prepared accordingly.
“We met the party president at his residence from 4 to 4:45 p.m. yesterday. We presented our agenda that the party’s 15th general convention should be held before the elections,” Sherpa told Setopati. “The president said, ‘Thank you for coming. I have already delegated responsibilities to Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka as acting president. Please speak with the acting president and the general secretaries as well.’”
Deuba told the central members that he was positive about holding the general convention before the elections. “I think this proposal could be a meeting point. I am positive. The party should not become too polarized. We must stay united and move forward together. Please take the initiative for that too,” Deuba reportedly told them.
Sherpa said that the president also inquired about whether the current environment is favorable for elections, referring to the Simara incident and recent developments. “He brought up the Simara incident and inquired whether there is an environment for elections,” he said.
The Nepali Congress has called the dissolution of the House of Representatives unconstitutional, but the central committee has not yet made a decision on contesting the March 5 elections.
The central members close to Deuba who are demanding the general convention before the elections also met the acting president and both general secretaries separately on Friday.
They met Acting President Khadka at his residence and the general secretaries at a hotel, pressing them to prepare the schedule for the 15th general convention before the elections.
“We met the acting president and asked him to prepare the schedule for the regular general convention. We reiterated our demand that the general convention should be held before the elections,” Sherpa said. “He said that he would consult all sides and that a decision would be made through the central committee. He acknowledged that the prolonged central committee meeting and the delay in making decisions have not sent a good message outside.”
Acting President Khadka said that he has been consulting all sides to hold the general convention and that efforts are ongoing.
After that, the central members met both General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma.
According to Sherpa, the general secretaries said that it would be best if the 15th general convention could be held within the month of Paush (mid-December to mid-January), and that doing so would also address the concerns of those demanding a special general convention.
General Secretary Thapa mentioned that he had already proposed holding the 15th general convention from December 31 to January 3 during the November 4 central committee meeting. He said that if the convention is held within that period, the concerns of those demanding a special general convention could also be accommodated. General Secretary Sharma also expressed support for this schedule.
Both Thapa and Sharma also told the Deuba-aligned members that they would not contest the elections if neither a regular nor a special general convention is held before the polls. “If a general convention is not held before the elections, we will not run,” both general secretaries reportedly said. Sherpa confirmed that the general secretaries shared this stance during the meeting.
Central members from the Deuba faction demanding a general convention before the elections include Rajendra Kumar Shrestha, Bharat Kumar Shah, Arjun Prasad Joshi, Pushpa Bhusal, Karna Bahadur Budha, Ganesh Lama, Anggelu Sherpa, Dila Sangraula, Uday Shumsher Rana, Nanu Bastola, Dhana Khatiwada, Abdul Razzak, Devendra Raj Kandel, Yogendra Chaudhary, Gopal Dahit, Bahadur Singh Lama, Dilman Pakhrin, Abdul Sattar, Mohan Acharya, Amrit Aryal, Jipchhiring Lama, Ram Janam Chaudhary, Champa Devi Khadka, Narayan Bahadur Karki, Chin Kaji Shrestha, among others.
Sherpa said that they also plan to meet leader Shekhar Koirala and leaders demanding a special general convention. Koirala is in favor of holding the regular general convention within Paush. If that is not possible, he believes the central committee should unanimously decide to hold a special general convention.
Those in favor of a special general convention have been demanding that the date and venue be fixed after verifying signatures. They insist that since they submitted signatures on October 15, they insist that a special general convention must be held by January 13.
