The state of indecisiveness, confusion and ambiguity continues inside the Nepali Congress even as the party’s central working committee meeting has been holding discussion for a month to finalise the dates for the party’s general convention. But it’s not just a matter of fixing dates. The party has yet to reach consensus on whether it will hold a regular 15th general convention or a special convention.

Although all office-bearers and central members have already expressed their views at the central working committee meeting that began on October 14, no decision has been reached as there is still no consensus on the timing of the general convention.

The Congress has not even formally decided to go to the elections. At a time when there is no formal decision on this issue, a faction in the party has also put forward the agenda of reinstating the House of Representatives.

Besides structured central committee meetings, at least one dozen separate gatherings and meetings have been held by two rival factions of the party—one led by party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and the other by general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma and senior leader Shekhar Koirala. But none of these meetings has shown the way on the Congress convention and the March 5 parliamentary elections.

On Saturday, as many as 70 central committee members gathered in Kathmandu and decided not to go for any convention of any form—regular or special—ahead of the snap polls. But a crack was apparent even in the establishment faction led by Deuba.

Later in the afternoon, a meeting of the central working execution committee was called to remove the ambiguity over the party convention. Acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka also held bilateral meetings with the general secretaries separately in order to reach a consensus but failed.

“There is some progress but a decision will be made only during Monday’s meeting,” said an office bearer. As the establishment faction holds a majority in the central working committee, they warned that if limbo continues, the issue would be settled through a vote.

Deuba, who sustained injuries during the September 9 attack by an angry mob, has returned from Singapore after 18 days of treatment. Many leaders are now turning to Deuba for a decision.

One leader close to him told the Post that Deuba was constantly in touch with party leaders and had been taking regular updates on the marathon meeting from Singapore. Some leaders were planning to meet him on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

“We have agreed to find a common point,” Guru Baral, a central committee member close to Deuba, told the Post. “More or less, we agreed not to hold any convention before the elections.”

Two former general secretaries of the party, Bimalendra Nidhi and Krishna Prasad Sitaula, have demanded a decision only on the elections but not the party convention, another leader said.

“The agenda of holding the party’s convention before the national elections as pushed by Thapa, Sharma and Koirala is gaining strong ground support,” the leader said.

But Baral said that most central committee members who attended Saturday’s meeting also spoke in favour of a delayed convention in May. But Thapa and Sharma were against it and rather proposed that the convention be held no later than the end of December. “Settling the issue through a vote is an option,” Baral said.

The establishment faction of the Nepali Congress is firm on not holding any kind of party convention before the elections.

As many as two dozen central members from the establishment faction met acting president Khadka on Friday, urging him to publish the schedule for the 15th general convention before the elections. They were also absent from the gathering organised by seven former office-bearers of the establishment faction on Saturday.

Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav said they were not in favour of holding any general convention before the elections, which was also the conclusion of the meeting.

According to him, the central working committee on Monday will focus not on the party convention but on preparations for the elections and the process of selecting candidates. They have decided to put pressure on Khadka to toe this line.

General secretaries Thapa and Sharma, however, have already started preparations for a special convention.

At Thursday’s central working committee meeting, Thapa proposed holding a special convention. But the establishment faction was adamant that the convention be held only after the House elections. The term of the current central working committee expires by mid-December.

Acting president Khadka recently faced criticism from both sides for his alleged indecisiveness. After questions were raised about his decision-making ability, Khadka wrote on social media on Saturday morning that he had chosen to “delay decision-making rather than making a hasty decision and regretting it later”.

He wrote: “By keeping the party united and confronting the pressures of this unfavourable time—while reflecting on our past mistakes, weaknesses, and by seeking forgiveness from the people—the Congress can once again find solutions, just like it has done in the past. Making an appropriate decision for the party requires time.”

Khadka makes “a special request to all friends to stay united, understand this sentiment, and have patience”.