Kathmandu, Jan 13 The Nepali Congress appears to be on the verge of a split amid differences between two factions over the ongoing Special General Convention (SGC), although efforts to keep the party intact continued throughout Tuesday.
The party’s two factions — one led by party president and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, and the other led by General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma — are at the loggerheads over the SGC being held in Kathmandu at the call of Thapa and Sharma, without approval from Deuba.
The confrontation, just a few months ahead of the scheduled House of Representatives elections on March 5, has sparked fears among party leaders and cadres about its potential impact on the party’s electoral prospects.
The Thapa–Sharma faction claims that a majority of elected members of the General Convention have participated in the SGC, and it is also scheduled to hold elections for a new Central Working Committee on Wednesday, with the election process already underway. The move would formally end Deuba’s leadership of the party, which he has held since 2016.
Thapa is the frontrunner for the post of party president. Addressing the SGC’s closed session on Tuesday, fellow General Secretary Sharma backed Thapa both as party president and as the Nepali Congress’s candidate for prime minister in the next government. However, Thapa’s possible elevation could come at the cost of a party split, as a significant section of party leaders continues to side with Deuba, who opposed holding the SGC.
Several rounds of talks involving leaders from both factions were held on Tuesday, but leaders said the two sides remained divided on key issues.
According to leaders close to Thapa and Sharma, a leadership compromise could be considered provided the establishment faction led by Deuba agreed to several conditions.
Subas Pokharel, a proponent of the SGC, said at a press briefing that there are three preconditions for reaching a consensus. First, party president Deuba must step down from all responsibilities. Second, he should not contest the upcoming House of Representatives elections. Third, the party leadership must formally take ownership of the SGC.
The faction does not want Deuba to have any role in running the party going forward, and has demanded that acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka be granted full executive authority.
Local media reports suggest that while Deuba agreed to take ownership of the SGC, he remained reluctant to accept the other preconditions during multiple rounds of talks on Tuesday.
“It is clear that the Thapa–Sharma faction does not want Deuba to have any role in selecting candidates for the upcoming elections,” Govinda Raj Pokharel, who claims to be independent of both factions, told IANS. “Thapa wants to consolidate his position in the party through the SGC and has not compromised on Deuba’s exit from party affairs.”
He warned that forcing Deuba out could trigger a party split, with both sides likely to claim leadership legitimacy before the Election Commission. “Ultimately, it would be up to the Election Commission or possibly the courts to decide. A rift just ahead of elections is risky in terms of electoral prospects,” he added.
The Nepali Congress has faced splits in the past. In 2002, the party split after Deuba, then prime minister, dissolved the House of Representatives. Following the dispute, he was ejected from the party, and he formed the Nepali Congress (Democratic).
The NC and NC (Democratic), which were part of the same alliance against then King Gyanendra Shah’s rule, reunited in September 2007 following the success of the 2006 people’s movement. Now, Deuba—who can no longer contest the party presidency as per the party’s statute—has once again become the center of a dispute threatening another split.
Although a majority of elected members of the Central General Convention had requested the party leadership as early as October last year to convene an SGC in the wake of the Gen Z movement that toppled the KP Sharma Oli-led government backed by the Nepali Congress, the leadership refused to consider the proposal.
According to the party statute, if 40 percent of elected members of the Central General Convention submit a written request citing special reasons, a SGC must be convened within three months.
Instead, the Central Working Committee—dominated by Deuba loyalists—decided to convene the party’s regular 15th General Convention in Kathmandu from May 11 to 14.
In response, Thapa and Sharma proceeded with the SGC despite attempts by the Deuba faction to stop it. With neither side backing down, the Grand Old Party is once again on the brink of a split.
“Given the claims that a majority of Central General Convention members attended the SGC, the Thapa–Sharma faction may win politically and morally,” Pokharel said. “However, whether the SGC and its decisions will be legally recognized by the Election Commission and the courts remains uncertain.”
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