The Nepali Congress has further postponed its central working committee meeting to Friday as the party struggles to sort the issue of when to hold its general convention.

Several open and closed door meetings were held to reach a consensus on holding the party’s convention but the matter continues to be knotty, said party leaders.

On Wednesday two rival factions, one led by party chief Sher Bahadur Deuba and the other jointly by the general secretary duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Shekhar Koirala, held their meetings with an aim to pressurise each other to agree to their agendas.

Acting party president Purna Bahadur Khadka is engaging with both factions in order to find a meeting point and has held consultations with Thapa, Sharma and Ramesh Lekhak, a prominent leader from Sudur Paschim where Deuba’s constituency lies.

Guru Baral, a central committee member close to Deuba, said that efforts are underway to find an agreeable path and resume the central meeting.

Khadka later sat with Koirala and other leaders in order to find a solution, Ramhari Khatiwada, a leader close to Khadka, said. Since Thapa and Sharma are adamant on holding a special party convention ahead of the March parliamentary elections, the Deuba faction is mulling a move to foil the strategy of the general secretaries.

According to a leader close to Deuba, if Thapa and Sharma do not agree on a middle path, the Deuba faction wants to reach a decision through a vote. Deuba enjoys a majority in the central committee and if any proposal is tabled there, his group can easily secure a decision in its favour. If voting will decide the date and the kind of party convention, it could put the Congress party on the brink of a split.

More than a half of the central committee members have demanded a special general convention.

The Congress should not hold a vote for when to organise the convention, said Khatiwada. If that happens, it will be unfortunate for the party and push it towards a split.

Khadka indicated that if the meeting has to take a decision on the convention by a vote, he will step down as the Congress acting chief.

If the proposal for holding the party convention prior to the March election or later is put to a vote, the Deuba faction is expected to have its say. This could force both general secretaries to resign and trigger a split in the party. Alternatively, if the camp seeking a special convention prevails, the Deuba faction fears a split.

During the meeting with Thapa and Sharma on Wednesday, Khadka proposed announcing a date and proceeding with a regular convention, to be held as soon as possible. But both general secretaries rejected the suggestion, another Congress leader said. Both general secretaries insist that a convention must take place before the elections.

At the heart of the dispute is the divergence of views between the two camps. The Deuba faction wants the party's 15th convention to be held only after the March elections. However, Thapa, Sharma and Koriala want to hold a convention—regular or special—prior to the elections.

The Thapa-Sharma-Koirala faction wants to elect the new party leadership by the end of December. However, the Deuba camp wants to foil a special convention and is pushing for a regular 15th convention only after the elections.

Those who favour a special convention and want to change the Congress leadership without delay held a gathering in Kathmandu on Wednesday. They insist that it is still possible to hold the convention within a month.

On the other hand, the Deuba faction is ready to present a time table for holding the general convention by the end of December as demanded by Thapa and Sharma but it has a caveat—the signatures demanding the special convention must be withdrawn first.

As many as 54 percent elected delegates to the general convention have filed a petition in the party demanding a special convention citing the changed political context following the Gen Z movement. But the Deuba faction is dead against holding the special convention arguing that it could divide the party.