Efforts to resolve the ongoing dispute within Nepali Congress (NC) hit a stalemate on Tuesday after high-level negotiations between rival factions made no headway.
The primary point of contention remains the "bottom line" set by General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, who are demanding that President Sher Bahadur Deuba be stripped of his executive powers, including his constitutional right to contest future elections and sign off on candidate tickets.
Despite a seemingly positive three-hour morning session in Lazimpat involving eight leaders from the Deuba, Shekhar Koirala, and General Secretaries' camps, the second round of talks in Bansbari turned sour.
Leaders representing the establishment (Deuba) faction accused the General Secretaries of shifting the goalposts. "They demanded the President’s resignation and sought to declare him ineligible for upcoming elections. A party cannot strip a leader of their constitutional right to contest," a leader from the establishment side told Nepalkhabar.
Points of contention
While the establishment side reportedly agreed to several previous demands, the talks failed over the "radical" proposals from the special convention advocates including forcing Deuba to step down within 90 days and stripping the President of the power to authorize election candidates.
General Secretary Sharma has already publicly proposed Gagan Thapa as the party’s future President and Prime Ministerial candidate during the ongoing special convention.
The Deuba camp expressed frustration, claiming they had already compromised on implementing decisions from the 2080 Falgun Mahasamiti meeting and forming a fair Parliamentary Board for ticket distribution. "It feels like they are being provoked to split the party. Agreement now seems unlikely," the leader added.
As the internal rift deepens, the scheduled Central Working Committee meeting has been postponed until Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the special convention continues its proceedings, having already passed the reports presented by the two General Secretarie
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