Kathmandu, Jan 10: Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Gagan Thapa and senior leader of the party’s establishment faction Ramesh Lekhak held a meeting to resolve ongoing party disputes. However, the leaders said no agreement was reached during the discussion.
Prakash Snehi Rasaili, a leader from the non-establishment faction, said the meeting took place last night. Rasaili added that Thapa rejected Lekhak’s proposal during the talks, though he did not disclose details about the proposal.
The faction demanding a special general convention, supported by signatures from 2,488 delegates, is preparing to hold it on January 11–12, 2026, at Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu.
Although the party constitution mandates that a special general convention be called within three months of a formal demand, the central committee had not convened it. As a result, the demanders themselves announced the convention on January 6, 2026. General Secretaries Thapa and Bishwprakash Sharma expressed support for this move.
The Central Executive Committee, in meetings on January 2 and 8, 2026, argued that the regular 15th general convention process had already begun, making the special convention unnecessary. The committee also warned that holding a special convention in such a sensitive situation could split the party. A post-meeting statement read: “Organizing a special general convention in the current sensitive situation is not in the party’s interest. This action could lead to party division.”
The committee also noted that any special general convention called outside the legal framework could not be considered valid. “The schedule for the general convention of December 31, 2025, was amended by the Central Work Execution Committee on January 2, 2026, fixing the 15th general convention for April 11–14, 2026. Therefore, any special convention called outside the constitution cannot be valid,” said Krishna Prasad Paudel, the party’s Secretary General, in an official statement.
However, Thapa, a supporter of the special convention, argued that the announcement of the regular convention does not nullify the demand for a special convention. He said: “Saying the special general convention loses its meaning after announcing the regular convention ignores the core demand. Leadership changes requested before the election cannot be dismissed by simply starting the regular convention.”
Thapa insisted that even with the regular convention’s schedule announced, the special general convention still has justification. “According to the party constitution, announcing the regular convention schedule does not eliminate the rationale for a special convention,” he said.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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