Preparations for a special general convention have begun within the Nepali Congress after it became clear that a regular general convention will not be held.
The process for a special general convention is moving forward without the consent of party President Sher Bahadur Deuba and acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka.
General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma are preparing to convene a special general convention by implementing Article 17 (2) of the party statute.
As part of the preparations, a hall at Bhrikuti Mandap in Kathmandu has already been booked.
Central committee member Pratima Gautam told Setopati that since the regular general convention was not held, a special general convention has become mandatory, and that the hall has already been booked for January 11 and 12.
“The central committee had brought a schedule to hold the 15th general convention from January 10. According to that schedule, ward conventions were to be held yesterday and municipal conventions today, but they could not take place,” she said. “Now, under Article 17 (2) of the statute, a special general convention will be held. For that, the hall has been booked for two days.”
Those in favor of a special general convention have been pressuring General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma to organize such a general convention. The two general secretaries have also concluded that a special general convention is now mandatory since the regular one did not take place.
“A special general convention will be convened with the signatures of the two general secretaries, and a letter signed by both general secretaries will be sent, inviting party President Sher Bahadur Deuba to chair the special general convention,” a source told Setopati. “According to the statute, the central office falls under the authority of the general secretaries. Legal experts have advised that the central office or party office-bearers can also convene a special general convention.”
Recently, leaders backing a special general convention visited the party’s central office and demanded that acting president Khadka fix the date and venue for holding such a general convention by January 12. However, neither the party president nor the acting president moved forward on this. Instead, President Deuba invited some journalists to his residence and told them that a special general convention would not be held.
“A memorandum was submitted to the acting president, asking him to fix the date and venue for a special general convention, but he ignored it and did not focus on implementing the statute,” the source said. “Therefore, a letter will now be sent directly to President Deuba, inviting him to preside over the special general convention.”
Earlier, General Secretary Thapa had criticized Deuba from the party office in Sanepa, accusing him of not attending party meetings while still exercising power.
Among the 4,743 delegates from the party’s 14th general convention, 54 percent had submitted signatures to acting president Khadka on October 15, demanding a special general convention.
However, the verification of those signatures and further processes did not move forward. In the meantime, a central committee meeting was held for one and a half months. On December 1, the president and acting president endorsed a schedule to hold the 15th general convention from January 10 to 12, but no progress was made according to the schedule.
Leaders have said that delegates who signed in support of a special general convention have been asked to come to Kathmandu.
Leaders from the camp of President Deuba are opposed to a special general convention, and it is unclear whether they would participate if one is held.
Party spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said that a special general convention should not be held on the eve of elections.
“Even if a hall is booked or whatever is done, a special general convention should not be held just before elections. Why is a special convention needed now?” he asked. “This is the time to unite and head into the general election together. Those responsible for holding the regular general convention are now talking about a special general convention. Why do we need a special general convention now?”
He claimed that although Article 17 (2) requires holding a special general convention within three months of signature submission, that has become irrelevant since a schedule was introduced for the 15th general convention in the intervening period.
