- The Nepali Congress faces an internal divide as two factions propose conflicting schedules for the party's 15th General Convention.
- President Gagan Thapa’s faction plans an October convention, while former president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s group favors December dates.
- Disputes involve delegate selection and leadership legitimacy, though the Supreme Court recently dismissed a petition to halt proceedings.
- With delegate numbers expected to reach 7,000, leaders must find political consensus to prevent organizational instability and ensure legitimacy.
Kathmandu, Nepal: The dispute within the Nepali Congress over the date and process of its 15th General Convention has widened, with two factions now proposing separate schedules.
The party’s working committee led by President Gagan Kumar Thapa has set October 2 to 5 for the general convention in Kathmandu. The faction led by former president Sher Bahadur Deuba has proposed December 7 to 9 for the convention.
The disagreement is not limited to the convention date. The two sides also differ over the process leading up to the convention, including organizational conventions, delegate selection and the legitimacy of the leadership elected through the process.
Thapa-led faction moves ahead with preparations
According to the schedule announced by the Nepali Congress, ward conventions will be held in all 6,743 wards across the country on September 9. Rural municipality and municipality conventions are scheduled for September 12.
Provincial assembly constituency conventions will be held on September 16, followed by House of Representatives constituency conventions and the selection of general convention delegates on September 19.
District conventions are scheduled for September 23 and provincial conventions for September 26. The central general convention is scheduled for October 2 to 5 in Kathmandu.
The party has also started preparations to deploy election officers and representatives at the ward level.
The Thapa-led faction is therefore proceeding with the organizational process required before the central convention.
Deuba faction rejects October convention
The Deuba faction has rejected the October schedule and proposed holding the general convention on December 7, 8 and 9.
The faction has maintained that its proposed process should continue the leadership elected by the 14th General Convention. It has also urged its leaders and cadres not to participate in the convention scheduled for October.
With the two sides following separate schedules, questions have emerged over which delegate-selection process will be recognized and which leadership will have the party’s official mandate.
Case reaches Supreme Court
Advocate Maniram Upadhyay had filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking to stop the general convention.
The Supreme Court administration rejected the petition at the registration stage. An application challenging that decision was later filed, but the court upheld the administration’s decision.
The attempt to stop the convention through that petition therefore did not proceed.
The court’s decision, however, has not settled the political disagreement within the party. Legal questions can be addressed through the judicial process, while disagreements over the party’s convention and leadership will have to be resolved through political discussions within the party.
Number of delegates expected to rise
The number of delegates to the 15th General Convention is expected to increase from the previous convention.
The 14th General Convention had 4,743 delegates. The election committee estimates that the number could reach around 7,000 at the 15th convention.
Under the amended party statute, each of the 165 House of Representatives constituencies will send 33 delegates, including the constituency president. Previously, 26 delegates were selected from each constituency.
The presidents of 330 provincial assembly constituencies and 753 local governments will also serve as ex officio general convention delegates.
The new arrangement will increase representation from local and provincial levels. At the same time, the process used to select delegates will be important in determining whether the convention is accepted by different groups within the party.
Dispute goes beyond factional competition
Factional competition has long been a feature of the Nepali Congress, and contests for party leadership are not unusual. The current dispute, however, involves disagreement over the convention process itself.
The Thapa-led faction is preparing for an October convention, while the Deuba faction has rejected that schedule and is working with a December timeline.
If the two sides continue separately, disputes could arise over delegate lists, organizational structures and the legitimacy of the leadership elected from either process.
The party will therefore need to find common ground on these issues before proceeding with the convention.
Talks remain important
The main issues requiring agreement include the convention date, active membership, delegate selection and the election process.
The two sides may also have to discuss how to manage organizational structures that have developed separately.
Party leaders have been holding discussions and efforts are reportedly underway to address the concerns of the dissatisfied faction. However, no agreement has so far been reached on the convention date or the process.
For the party leadership, resolving the differences over each of these issues will be a key task in the days ahead.
Key challenge for the convention
The October 2–5 and December 7–9 schedules have exposed the disagreement within the Nepali Congress. The convention’s outcome, however, will depend not only on when it is held.
The selection of delegates, acceptance of that process by different factions and acceptance of the election results will also be important.
Competition for party leadership is part of internal democratic practice. For the process to move forward, however, the competing groups will also have to agree on the rules of the contest and accept the outcome of the election.
