Bishwa Prakash Sharma, a general secretary of the country’s oldest political party, the Nepali Congress, had proposed an exit policy for leaders holding positions such as president, prime minister, minister, and lawmakers from at the Mahasamiti meeting in February.

In his contemporary political proposal, Sharma demanded limits of one, two, three, and four terms for each of the positions.

The Mahasamiti meeting of the Congress unanimously passed three important Sharma proposals, along with Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka’s policy proposal and the other general secretary Gagan Thapa’s organisational proposal. However, it also set a condition that the central working committee could modify the proposal before it was finalised.

The party has a central working committee of central committee members.

According to the party leaders, the party's exit policy was highly criticised during the central committee meeting that commenced on August 7. Party leaders also claimed that fixing a time limit for the leadership was contrary to the democratic principle that the party champions.

The Congress's central committee meeting, which started in early August, was postponed by ten days, arguing that the party leaders needed to give time to Parliament and the parliamentary committee.

Leaders like Arzu Rana Deuba, who is also the foreign minister, and Gynendra Bahadur Karki are a few among the Congress leaders who lambasted the exit policy at the central committee meeting.

But central member Dinesh Koirala, who is close to Shekhar Koirala, said their camp favored General Secretary Sharma’s proposal regarding the exit policy.

“Since the time limit for the leaders is not mentioned in the party chapter and even the nation’s constitution does not acknowledge it, party members will unanimously agree to revise the proposal,” Koirala told the Post.

Few Congress leaders have advocated lateral entry into the party to attract people from diverse backgrounds. But when the old leaders still hold a prominent position in internal politics, the issue of lateral entry has become a far cry.

The party leaders say the Congress's central committee meeting, which was held almost for a month with a gap, will conclude on Wednesday. Before concluding the meeting, it will revise the proposal presented by Khadka, Thapa, and Sharma during the Mahasamiti meeting.

During the Mahasamiti meeting, five proposals were presented, three of which were important.

“The proposal presented by the vice-president and general secretary duo of the party during the Mahasamiti meeting will be endorsed by the central committee meeting,” Min Bahadur Bishwokarma, coordinator of the party's publicity department, told the Post. “But, while doing so, we will take the middle path.”

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat says there are no fundamental differences between the party members regarding Khadka’s policy proposal.

“Khadka proposed the way forward to strengthen the party; there are no fundamental differences between the party members, though there can be some issues related to their presentation,” Mahat told the Post. “But the central committee meeting will revise the general secretary duo’s proposals before endorsing.”

Mahat added that Sharma’s proposal is related to amending the party statute, but the central members are currently discussing the party's policy.

Bishwakarma said the party will have held its general convention before the next election, so the committee elected thereafter will determine whether the party should form an electoral alliance.

The party's 14th general convention was held in December 2021. As per the party charter, the Congress should hold its general convention every four years.

“At present, we are discussing the party's policies; electoral alliance is a strategy which will be discussed later,” Bishwakarma told the Post.

Meanwhile, the party's scheduled general convention has been delayed by over a year. The dissident faction of the party demanded a timely general convention, as it has a history of not sticking to the party charter when it comes to the national gathering.

Addressing the Central Working Committee meeting on August 12, Shekhar Koirala drew the attention of the establishment faction to ensure that the party’s 15th general convention is not delayed.

Earlier, during the party's Mahasamiti meeting, the establishment faction led by Sher Bahadur Deuba argued for considering electoral alliances as a strategy. However, the dissident faction led by Shekhar Koirala and Thapa claimed that the party should make a policy not to forge electoral alliances.

Youth leader Shankar Tiwari, who is close to Thapa, says the party's central committee is trying to overrule the decision endorsed by the party's Mahasamiti meeting, which is a wrong practice.

“Party cadres were not much impressed by the exit policy proposed by General Secretary Sharma whereas not forging the electoral alliance was an idea to strengthen the party organisation,” Tiwari told the Post.

The Congress fought the November 2022 elections in alliance with four other political parties, mainly the CPN (Maoist Centre). Even then, the party was divided on whether to forge an electoral alliance. The dissident faction was opposed to the electoral alliances calling them counterproductive for the party as they dilute the ideology.

Since the establishment faction holds the majority in the party, voices of the dissident faction get subdued.