As many as two dozen Nepali Congress central working committee members submitted a letter to the party’s central committee on Friday, demanding a general convention before the March 5 parliamentary elections.

Almost all of these members had contested the party election from the Sher Bahadur Deuba camp during its 14th general convention held in December 2021.

Nepali Congress is debating whether to hold a general convention before the March elections and whether it should be a special convention or a regular one. The four-year term of all elected bodies of the party is set to expire in mid-December, and this makes it necessary to hold the 15th general convention. But some senior leaders close to Deuba have been insisting on delaying the convention until the parliamentary elections are over.

The central working committee meeting has been debating these two issues for the past two months, but has yet to reach a conclusion.

Over 54 percent of the elected general convention representatives have demanded a special convention ahead of the elections and submitted their signatures to the acting Congress president, Purna Bahadur Khadka. Although the establishment faction is in favour of holding the general convention only after the elections, two dozen central committee members on Friday broke ranks and demanded that it be held before the elections.

“During the two-months-long discussion in the party, we have encountered some extreme views and opinions,” said Udaya Rana, a central working committee member. “In order to bring those diverse opinions together, we have decided to submit our independent views. We are different and we are for the larger party unity,” Rana told the Post, adding that they do not want to be tagged with any camp and clique within the party.

Due to the inability to resolve this dispute over the general convention and its timing, the central committee meeting has been indecisive for weeks. The petitioners on Friday demanded that the 15th general convention be organised in November/December and a schedule released immediately.

Among those signing the petition are central members Rajendra Kumar KC, Bharat Kumar Shah, Arjun Prasad Joshi, Puspa Bhusal, Karna Bahadur Budha, Ganesh Lama, Ang Gelu Sherpa, Dila Sangroula, Udaya Rana, Nanu Bastola, Dhana Khatiwada, Abdul Razak, Devendra Raj Kandel, Yogendra Chaudhary, Gopal Dahit, Bahadur Singh Lama, Dilman Pakhrin, Abdul Sattar, Mohan Acharya, Amrit Aryal, Jipchhiring Lama, Ramjanam Chaudhary, and Champadevi Khadka.

The petition reads as follows: "To make the upcoming [parliamentary] election result-oriented, the 15th General Convention should be initiated by Mangsir [November/December 2025] in accordance with the party charter, and a detailed schedule should be prepared to complete the convention in a structured manner."

Similarly, the letter stated that the 15th convention must ensure meaningful participation of youth, women, Dalits, indigenous nationalities, Tharus, Madhesis, Muslims, marginalised regions and classes, as well as people with disabilities, in all levels of the party structure.

Deuba arrived from Singapore on Friday night. His presence in the party is expected to facilitate an early decision on the crucial matter.

Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, visited Singapore for medical treatment, having been injured in the Gen Z-led September protests.