Kathmandu, Nov 29: Twenty-eight members of the Nepali Congress Central Working Committee loyal to Sher Bahadur Deuba pushed a proposal to hold the party’s regular General Convention by mid December.
Instead of calming tensions, the move fueled deeper division. Deuba, who has been resisting a Special General Convention, tried to offer a middle date somewhere between mid December and mid January, but the dissident camp threw it out instantly.
Leaders aligned with General Secretary Gagan Thapa say Deuba’s plan is simply a tactic to delay the special convention. They argue that a full general convention needs eight stages of internal voting from the grassroots up, something impossible to complete in a few weeks.
They also question Deuba’s sincerity, pointing out that he wants withdrawal of the signatures submitted on October 15 by more than fifty four percent of convention delegates. Thapa and his group have made it clear those signatures will stay, and they warn that if the party does not follow the announced calendar, the Special General Convention will begin on December 11.
With neither side willing to bend, fears of a split are growing. Thapa rejected the proposal conveyed by Ramesh Lekhak and said the party now needs the convention itself, not just a schedule.
He added that Deuba must either step aside or contest the presidency openly. Guru Raj Ghimire, who led the signature campaign, said Deuba has grown rigid after decades at the top. Ghimire and others skipped a meeting called by Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka, saying such talks only deepen mistrust.
During the recent Central Committee meeting, even Thapa said that the timeline for a regular convention is no longer workable. Leaders like Bishwo Prakash Sharma also warn that there is no turning back on the special convention plan. With the establishment camp holding the majority but unable to offer a workable timetable, the party’s internal conflict continues to escalate.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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