After the Supreme Court declined to block the 15th general convention of the Nepali Congress, the faction led by former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba has begun preparations to hold a separate general convention.
The Nepali Congress led by Gagan Thapa, which emerged from a special general convention held in January, is scheduled to begin municipal-level conventions on September 9, complete conventions at various levels, and hold its 15th general convention in Kathmandu from October 2 to 5.
The Deuba-led faction has decided not to participate in the general convention. Instead, it is preparing to announce its own general convention schedule and has already called a meeting for the purpose.
According to leader Min Bahadur Bishwakarma, a meeting has been called for September 2 to discuss issues including the timetable for the 15th general convention.
“After the Sanepa-based Congress led by Gagan Thapa announced a schedule to hold the central general convention in October, we went to court seeking to stop it. But the court said that there was no need to halt the general convention. If the general convention does not have to be stopped, we have also begun preparations to hold a general convention,” Bishwakarma told Setopati. “A meeting will be held on September 2 for that purpose.”
He said that the meeting would decide on the general convention timetable.
“The Congress led by Gagan Thapa has moved ahead with preparations after announcing a schedule to begin municipal conventions from September 9. We will not participate in those conventions. We will announce our own general convention schedule around the same period,” he said.
“The Sanepa-based Congress has already made extensive preparations for its general convention, but we have not. We still have a lot of preparation to do. Therefore, we will announce a schedule and hold our central general convention before the end of Mangsir (mid-December).”
The Nepali Congress held its 14th general convention from December 10 to 14, 2021. Under the party statute, a regular general convention must be held every four years. If this is not possible, the tenure may be extended by one year, but that extended period expires in December. Therefore, the party is required to complete the general convention by then, Bishwakarma said.
The Deuba faction did not participate in the special general convention held in January.
The faction has also been carrying out parallel activities after opening a liaison office in Chundevi, Kathmandu. It maintains that because the Supreme Court has allowed a review of the case related to the special general convention, the committee elected by the 14th general convention remains the legitimate party leadership until the case is resolved.
The faction also held a national gathering from August 14 to 16, where it decided that the 15th general convention should be held under Deuba’s leadership.
Former acting party president Purna Bahadur Khadka and leader Shekhar Koirala have also been participating in activities organized by the Deuba-led group.
Deuba returned to Nepal on August 13 after spending five months undergoing treatment in Hong Kong and Singapore. Since his return, he has occasionally visited the Chundevi liaison office, where a separate room has been set aside for him with a nameplate identifying him as “President.”
A situation has now emerged in which two separate general conventions could be held under the name of the Nepali Congress.
After a general convention is held, its newly elected central committee must be updated with the Election Commission. The Deuba faction is also preparing to visit the Election Commission after holding a general convention and electing new leadership.
Bishwakarma said that both the Gagan Thapa-led and Deuba-led factions would elect their respective leaderships through separate general conventions and then seek to update their party details with the Election Commission.
“A dispute will arise over which of the two the Election Commission chooses to update,” he said. “The one recognized by the commission will be the Nepali Congress. The other will remain the Nepali Congress in a changed form.”
He said that the faction felt compelled to pursue its own general convention because the Supreme Court had allowed a review of the case concerning the special general convention.
Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress has said that ward-level conventions will begin on September 9.
According to the party’s central office, around 800,000 members have already updated their active memberships. Those who have not done so have been given a final opportunity to renew and update their memberships.
The central office said that active memberships can be renewed and updated from August 31 to September 4.
A statement issued by Acting Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Dulal said that a meeting of the membership management central committee, chaired by General Secretary and committee coordinator Pradip Paudel and held on August 30 in the presence of party President Gagan Thapa, decided to extend the deadline.
The statement said that the decision was made “taking into consideration the party’s broader interests, unity, and requests from party colleagues” and would allow active members who had missed the earlier deadline to renew and update their memberships from August 31 to September 4.
Most former office-bearers, including former party president Deuba, as well as some district presidents and party workers from the non-establishment faction, have not updated their active memberships.
However, they had renewed their memberships by December 25 last year. Some leaders who did not participate in the special general convention held in January have also not updated their active memberships.
The Deuba faction, meanwhile, is preparing to hold its general convention based on members who had renewed their memberships by December 25. More than 80 percent of those who had renewed their memberships by then have since updated their active membership status.
The dispute within the party began in January over whether to hold a regular general convention or a special general convention. A special general convention was eventually held following demands from a majority of general convention representatives, led by then general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma.
Recently, the Deuba faction has been organizing events under the coordination of former general secretary Shashank Koirala. Leaders from the faction have also reached an agreement that Koirala will oversee preparations for the 15th general convention under Deuba’s guidance.
Under the party statute, Deuba is no longer eligible to contest for the post of party president. It also remains unclear who will run for party president from the non-establishment faction if it holds a separate 15th general convention.
The non-establishment faction includes most former office-bearers. Among them, Bimalendra Nidhi and Prakash Man Singh had also contested for party president at the 14th general convention.
It is also not yet clear whether former acting party president Purna Bahadur Khadka and leader Shekhar Koirala will participate if a separate general convention is held.
Unless there is a change in the schedule, conventions are set to begin in 11 days amid continuing internal differences within the Nepali Congress.
