The Nepali Congress looks set to have parallel activities within the party as internal factions clash over party leadership.
Leaders from the faction of former party vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka and leader Shekhar Koirala are preparing to launch parallel party activities.
While the central committee led by Gagan Thapa – elected by a special general convention – was meeting in Sanepa, the Khadka-Koirala faction held its own separate meeting on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the former president of the party, Sher Bahadur Deuba, is currently in Hong Kong.
According to leader Min Bahadur Bishwakarma, the meeting was chaired by Khadka.
"We held a meeting of the central working committee today and will soon call a meeting of the central committee," he told Setopati.
He added that a "central committee" meeting would be convened within a week, with Khadka assigned the responsibility of calling the meeting.
Leaders from the faction said that they would call a meeting of the central committee elected by the 14th general convention to review the recently held election and discuss the upcoming 15th general convention, among other matters.
Sunday’s meeting, held at 9 a.m. in Kathmandu, included Khadka, Koirala, and other leaders who were part of the previous central working committee.
A special general convention was held in December under the leadership of the then general secretaries, Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma. That convention saw Thapa elected as party president and Sharma as vice-president.
The Election Commission recognized the special general convention, while the Deuba faction challenged its legitimacy in the Supreme Court, where the case remains sub judice.
The internal dispute has resurfaced following the House of Representatives election on March 5, in which the Nepali Congress won only 38 seats.
Following the party’s poor performance in the election, Thapa, who became president through the special general convention, has also resigned from his post.
