The ongoing Nepali Congress (NC) Central Working Committee meeting, which started on October 14, is deadlocked over whether to hold the 15th General Convention before or after the general election scheduled for March 5.
Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who recently returned from medical treatment in Singapore, and his establishment faction insist on holding the convention after the election.
Deuba has instructed party leaders to find a consensus, stressing that the focus must be on the regular convention and that a special convention should be avoided. His proposal involves a flexible schedule: the general convention process would only be prioritized if the March 5 election is postponed. If the election goes ahead, the convention work would be deferred to focus entirely on the polls, arguing that holding both simultaneously would significantly harm the party. He suggested completing membership activities by mid-December and beginning the preliminary convention process in late December.
Gagan-Shekhar faction demands special convention and pre-poll leadership
On the contrary, General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, along with Dr Shekhar Koirala, maintain that the party must elect a new leadership before the 15th General Election. Koirala insists that the regular convention must be completed by the last week of January.
The Shekhar-Gagan camp has piled pressure on the establishment faction for a special general convention. A letter, signed by 2,488 (54%) of the 4,743 General Convention representatives—exceeding the 40% threshold required by the party statute—was submitted on October 15.
General Secretary Thapa has proposed December 31 to January 3 as the date for a special general convention, arguing that if the establishment faction refuses a prompt regular convention, a special convention is necessary to elect a new president and manage the party during the transitional phase leading up to the general convention.
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