The ongoing central working committee meeting of the Nepali Congress saw a heated debate on the reports presented by party vice president Purna Bahadur Khadka and general secretaries duo Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma.

Khadka presented a policy report of the party, Thapa organizational report and Sharma presented a report on the contemporary political situation, at the central working committee meeting, which kicked off Thursday, at party headquarters in Sanepa.

Over three dozen central working committee members spoke in the meeting on Thursday and Friday with the majority expressing critical views of all three reports.

Among those criticising the reports was Dr Shekhar Koirala, who said that all three reports lacked “originality” and “flavor” synonymous with the Nepali Congress.

“These reports appear to be influenced by the current ruling alliance,” he said, while presenting a 16-point comment on the reports. The current ruling alliance comprises the Nepal Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN ( Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party, and Rastriya Janamorcha, each representing different political ideologies.

Khadka, in his report, dealt with various policy-related issues of the Nepali Congress and offered suggestions on how to adapt them to the evolving context.

Thapa’s report gives an overview of the party’s organizational structure and proposes a timeline for holding the 15th general convention of the party by the end of 2025, along with strategies for revitalising the party’s organization and structures from the top to the grassroots level.

Sharma, however, holds a different view from Thapa regarding whether to form a political alliance during the next elections.

Nepali Congress has been tarnishing its reputation by partnering with parties like the CPN (Maoist Centre) and others that hold incongruous ideologies.

Thapa and Koirala advocate for contesting the upcoming three tiers of elections independently. But Sharma, in his report, has said it would be too early for the party to rule out any electoral alliances four years ahead of the elections.

The issue of whether the Congress should forge a pre-electoral alliance ahead of the polls will be discussed in the Mahasamiti meeting, which is scheduled for next week.

Party president Sher Bahadur Deuba has not revealed his stance yet, but according to his close aide, Deuba believes that making such a decision four years before the elections would be premature.

Khadka, however, gave a long context in his paper on why Nepali Congress was compelled to partner with other parties.

“Those reports and documents presented in the meeting seem to be overshadowed by the influence of the ruling alliance. The reports and proposals to be tabled in the Mahasamiti meeting should reflect the authentic values of the Nepali Congress, but I am not seeing that,” said Koirala.

He also supported the proposal of General Secretary Thapa to hold the party’s 15th general convention by mid-December 2025, but stated that the charter of the Nepali Congress has a lot of flaws and require revision and amendment.

“Due to these flaws, several organization-related activities are being halted. The upcoming Mahasamiti meeting should form a new draft committee to amend the party charter in accordance with the evolving context,” said Koirala.

The Mahasmiti meeting, considered the highest policy-making body of the party, is slated to kick off on Monday. Over 2,200 representatives from within and outside the party will participate in the meeting.

Koirala also pointed out several other issues related to people’s livelihood and concerns, social and economic issues, and other pressing issues that were overlooked in the three reports, and urged the leaders to incorporate them.

Meanwhile, during the central committee meeting on Friday, as many as 22 central working committee members submitted a memorandum to party president Deuba calling for the restoration of the Hindu state. Led by Congress lawmaker Shankar Bhandari, the 22 members have asked the party leadership to adopt a resolution in favor of Vaidik Sanatan Hindu State through the upcoming Mahasamiti meeting.

Leader Pradip Poudel, who is seen close to Thapa and Sharma, also criticized the reports of the three leaders.

“These reports could not generate any momentum,” said Poudel, adding, “All these three reports have identified the problems, but failed to offer concrete solutions.”

“Gagan Thapaji has offered some solutions, but that is not enough. None of the reports are focussed on resolving the problems faced by the country and the party,” said Poudel.

“There is frustration inside the party on multiple fronts, so the party is being questioned by party leaders and cadres and the general public.”

The party holds the largest share in the federal government, is leading the majority of the provincial governments, and its representatives hold the highest number of leadership positions in local governments.

According to Thapa’s report, despite progress within the government, there has been a decline in the party’s popularity in each successive election.

“I cannot fully endorse all three of these reports,” said Nain Sigh Mahar, another central working committee member, adding, “Before drafting the report, they should have been discussed with the central committee members, but that did not happen. So I will present my own proposals in the Mahasamiti meeting,” said Mahar, expressing dissatisfaction with the three reports.

Jeet Jung Basnet, another central working committee member, came down heavily on Thapa’s report, saying some of the proposals offered by Thapa in his report are not in line with the party charter. He also questioned several proposals tabled by Thapa to revamp the party’s organizational base.

General Secretary Sharma said that the formation of Kedar Karki’s government in Koshi Province impacted the coalition’s dynamics in the National Assembly elections.

With the initial support of the CPN-UML, Congress’s Karki became the chief minister of Koshi province although the CPN ( Maoist Centre) was claiming the same post. In the National Assembly elections, Maoist candidate Champa Karki lost to UML’s Rukmini Koirala. Subsequently, Maoist leaders have publicly accused the Congress voters of betraying their candidate, Karki.

Concluding the meeting on Friday, Deuba said that he had anticipated criticism aimed at him, but the meeting went well without any controversy.

Leader Ram Hari Khatiwada said that the party vice president and the general secretaries will incorporate the feedback and suggestions of the central committee meeting into their reports and present them at the Mahasamiti next week.

Similarly, in the run-up to the Mahasmiti meeting, a group of youth leaders of the party have cautioned against making the Mahasamiti a mere formality, while stressing the need for having meaningful discussion. They also urged the party to address the internal discontent and discord, along with the concerns of the public.

As many as two dozen youth leaders of the party assembled on Friday and discussed the possible agenda for the Mahasamiti meeting, internal party issues, and livelihood matters, among other things, according to Bhupendra Jung Shahi, a Congress youth leader.