NC leaders switch camps as rift over general convention date widens

KATHMANDU: Although leaders close to Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba are in favor of holding general convention only after March 5 elections, around two dozen Central Working Committee (CWC) members close to him have stood in favor of holding the party’s general convention by mid-December.

The term of NC’s CWC is expiring in mid-December.

At a gathering held in Kalimati on Sunday, the CWC members concluded that the regular general convention should be held before the upcoming elections.

All these CWC members were elected from Deuba’s faction during the 14th General Convention. Several of these members spoke in favor of holding the convention before the elections in the ongoing CWC meeting.

CWC Member Rajendra KC said Sunday’s meeting reaffirmed that position. “We had already said in the CWC meeting that the general convention should be held within mid-December,” KC said. “Sunday’s gathering reached the same conclusion.”

According to KC, about 25 to 30 CWC members took part in the meeting.

There is a growing debate within NC over whether to hold the general convention before or after the elections. The dispute over the timing of the convention has led to increasing polarization within the NC. Both the establishment faction and the opposing camp are internally divided over whether to hold a regular or a special convention before or after the election.

While some leaders within the establishment faction argue that the convention should take place only after the elections, others insist that it must be held before the elections. “The term of the current CWC has already expired. Holding the convention by mid-December will not cause any problem; it is entirely feasible,” said one CWC member who attended the meeting. “Our bottom line is that the convention must be held by mid-December. This decision could even be submitted in writing during the CWC meeting on Tuesday.”

Among those attending Sunday’s meeting were Joint General Secretary Farmullah Mansur and CWC members Dila Sangraula, Pushpa Bhusal, Devendra Raj Kandel, Amrit Aryal, Abdul Sattar and Binod Chaudhary, among others.

Interestingly, Farmullah Mansur and Mahendra Yadav — both elected as joint general secretaries from the Deuba camp — now stand on opposing sides over the issue. Similarly, Sangraula, who was also elected from the Deuba faction, has aligned herself with the opposing group’s position. Although Sangraula claimed she did not attend Sunday’s meeting, a leader present in the meeting said she was involved in the discussions.

“I did not attend the meeting today, and I wasn’t even informed about it,” Sangraula told Himal Press over the phone. “I don’t know what exactly was discussed.”

However, she reaffirmed her stance that the convention should indeed be held by mid-December. “Considering the current political context, I believe the NC should enter the election with new leadership,” she said. “I have said this in the CWC meeting as well.”

The CWC meeting, which began on October 14, has been continuing amid the prolonged debate over setting the convention date. Although each CWC member was previously given three minutes to speak, this time the duration has been extended to 10 minutes.

The meeting was briefly postponed during the Tihar and Chhath festivals. Fifty-one CWC members have yet to express their views.

At this rate, NC leaders say the meeting is likely to continue till the third week of November.

The anti-establishment faction has accused the leadership of deliberately extending speaking time to avoid holding the convention by mid-December.