NC deadlock deepens as establishment faction rejects pre-election convention

KATHMANDU, Nov 16: The establishment faction of the Nepali Congress (NC) has maintained its position against holding any general convention before the March 5 House of Representatives (HoR) election, stalling the party’s roadmap as the rival faction led by General Secretary Gagan Thapa continues to exhort pressure for a Special General Convention.

On Thursday, 25 members of the Central Working Committee (CWC) submitted a memorandum to Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka requesting that the party hold a Special General Convention before the polls. However, those CWC members were absent in Saturday's gathering called by seven office bearers loyal to the establishment faction.

NC leaders said holding either a regular or special convention ahead of the election would be detrimental to the party. The faction concluded that the central committee meeting scheduled for November 17 should focus strictly on election-related preparations including forming the parliamentary board, initiating the candidate-selection process and advancing other election programmes.

Meanwhile, the rival faction led by General Secretary Gagan Thapa has intensified efforts to push for a Special General Convention. After the establishment faction declined to endorse any pre-election convention, Thapa formally proposed in Thursday’s central committee meeting that a Special General Convention be held on December 13 and 14. Earlier, he had proposed holding the regular convention from December 31 to January 5. But on the same day Thapa proposed a date for the regular convention, establishment faction leader and Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav presented a proposal to hold the convention after the election, from May 10 to 13 next year.

Article 17(2) of the party statute states that if 40 percent of General Convention representatives demand a Special Convention, the party must convene it within three months. Earlier on October 15, a total of 54 percent of delegates submitted a request to conduct a Special General Convention before the election.

The CWC meeting, ongoing since October 14, has allowed all office bearers and members to express their views, but it has failed to reach a decision due to the widening division over the convention. The party has also not yet taken a formal decision to participate in the upcoming election, while a separate internal cluster has revived the agenda of reinstating the dissolved HoR, adding further complexity.

With Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba—who has returned from Singapore—once again expected to take control of the party leadership, efforts are underway to form a unified position. But the fate of the party seems grim unless the opposing factions reach a common ground as soon as possible.