The general convention of the Nepali Congress is likely to be pushed back after its central working committee on Friday decided to extend the deadline for distributing active memberships to mid-December.

The ongoing row within the party between party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel has mainly been focussed on holding the 14th general convention, which will elect a new leadership, as early as possible.

“With the deadline to distribute active membership of the party extended to mid-December, it is almost certain that the 14th general convention of the party will be deferred and the party will work out a new date after Tihar,” Gagan Thapa, a central working committee member, told the Post.

While the Deuba faction has proposed holding the general convention in September next year, the Poudel faction hopes to hold it on the scheduled dates February 19 to 22.

Krishna Prasad Situala, another influential leader in the party, has proposed June for the convention.

In the meeting on Friday, party president Deuba had proposed to hold the 14th general convention by September end and urged the meeting to discuss a new timeline accordingly, according to a central committee member.

But Poudel believes that the convention can still be held in February if the party can meet the mid-December deadline for membership distribution, according to another Nepali Congress central working committee member.

The distribution of active membership is always crucial in the party because active members are the primary voters inside the party and are responsible to elect party representatives from ward to district levels.

During the party’s 13th general convention in March 2016, Deuba beat Poudel for the party presidency. As per the party statute, another convention should have been held in four years but with internal wranglings within the party, the convention had been postponed for a year.

The earlier deadline for the distribution of active membership had been August for the convention to be held in February.

The Poudel faction has accused the Deuba faction of distributing active party memberships indiscriminately so as to bolster his support base.

The party had decided to increase the number of active members by two-fold ahead of the upcoming general convention.