KATHMANDU, July 9: The faction led by former Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba has resolved to prioritize party unity while leaving the door open to an alternative political course if efforts to forge a consensus within the party fail.
The decision came after a three-day meeting of the Deuba faction, held from Monday to Wednesday following the inauguration of its new contact office in Chundevi, Kathmandu. The meeting concluded that the group would remain as flexible as possible in pursuing dialogue and consensus to steer the party through its ongoing internal crisis.
Speaking after the meeting, leader Min Bahadur Bishwakarma said participants agreed that obstacles created in the name of renewing active party membership should be removed and that the party should move forward through consensus. According to him, most leaders argued that the active membership renewal process finalized when party President Gagan Thapa was serving as general secretary should be recognized and used as the basis for future organizational work.
Concluding the meeting, former Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka stressed that President Gagan Thapa and Vice-President Bishwa Prakash Sharma should take the initiative to bridge differences and build consensus. However, he voiced concern over what he described as the widening gap between the two leaders.
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"Those who are supposed to unite the party have grown far apart. The party will not split because of us; it will split only if the party president wants it to," Khadka told the meeting.
Several leaders proposed convening a national gathering immediately. However, the meeting stopped short of announcing a date, agreeing instead to hold further consultations before finalizing the schedule.
"Once a decision is made, we should not have to postpone it later citing a lack of time. Therefore, we will consult all sides before fixing the date for the national gathering," Khadka said.
The meeting also exposed differing views within the Deuba faction over its future strategy. One camp argued that instead of remaining in constant confrontation with the leadership elected through the special general convention, the faction should begin exploring a new political course. The other maintained that every effort should first be exhausted to preserve unity within the party.
Former vice-president Bimalendra Nidhi, former general secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula, leader Mohan Bahadur Basnet, Sudurpashchim Province President Bir Bahadur Balayar and former central committee member Kundan Kafle were among those who favored discussing an alternative political option.
However, after Khadka and most senior leaders emphasized that efforts to build consensus should continue until every possibility had been exhausted, the meeting concluded without announcing the date for the proposed national gathering.
The meeting also decided to observe BP Memorial Day on July 22 under a separate programme organized by the Deuba faction.
Internal disputes within the NC have deepened since the special general convention held in the second week of January, which elected new leadership despite objections from the then central working committee.
The Deuba faction and the faction led by Dr Shekhar Koirala have maintained that active members should not be required to undergo a fresh digital verification process. They have also called for the committee elected through the special general convention to be integrated into a unified party structure before the party proceeds to its 15th General Convention. The establishment faction, however, has shown little willingness to accept those demands.
