Nepali Congress is in turmoil ahead of the parliamentary elections after its two general secretaries unilaterally called a special general convention.

Issuing a joint statement on Thursday, general secretary duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma announced that they would summon a special general convention and immediately suspended all preparations related to the party’s 15th general convention, which was originally scheduled from January 10 to 12.

The timeline for the regular general convention was thrown into disarray due to time constraints and opposition from party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and his supporters. Faced with delays and disruptions, Thapa and Sharma decided to halt all preparations related to the 15th general convention.

Following the general secretaries’ joint statement, Deuba has started consultations with party leaders on how to respond to the new situation. On Thursday evening, Deuba met acting party president Purna Bahadur Khadka, and leader Shekhar Koirala, among others.

In the evening, the party’s chief secretary Krishna Prasad Poudel issued a statement saying the party’s central working execution committee will meet on Friday. The meeting will discuss the emerging situation after general secretaries called the special convention, Poudel told the Post.

Meanwhile, the Thapa-Sharma camp has already set the date for the special general convention.

“We have decided to summon a special convention on January 11 and 12,” Ajaybabu Siwakoti, a central committee member close to Thapa, said. “We have already booked a hall at Bhrikutimandap for the purpose.”

Earlier on Thursday, both Thapa and Sharma had requested a meeting with Deuba, but he refused to see them, according to leaders. After this, Thapa left for Dhulikhel to draft a report to be submitted at the special convention.

General Secretary Sharma will meet Deuba on Friday and inform him about the special convention and will request him to attend as a special guest, according to Siwakoti.

“As the regular general convention has been postponed, a special general convention is the only alternative,” Thapa and Sharma said in their statement. But the establishment faction led by Deuba is dead against any kind of convention ahead of the March parliamentary elections.

The two general secretaries’ statement said the regular general convention has been postponed, with the schedule of the regular general convention that was fixed by the meeting of the Nepali Congress Central Working Committee on December 1, to be approved by an upcoming meeting. The new decision of the two general secretaries has to be endorsed by the party’s central working committee.

“The primary alternative to address the demand for a special general convention registered at the central office with signatures of 54 percent of the convention delegates, was a regular general convention. However, as the regular general convention is not going to happen within the scheduled time, the special general convention has once again emerged as the alternative,” the statement said.

The Deuba faction is likely to boycott the special convention.

“We will not participate in the special convention,” said Kiran Poudel, a central committee member from the Deuba camp.

“First, they [Thapa and Sharma] cannot gather a majority of elected representatives who had earlier submitted petitions [for special general convention] at party headquarters. Second, we have to see how Shekhar Koirala reacts,” said Poudel.

Party senior leader Koirala was also upset with the delay in party convention, but has not made his position public. Earlier, Koirala’s supporters had also signed the petition for a special general convention.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, Koirala said that a decision on a special convention should be taken by the central committee.

“I am also in favour of a special convention but it is not a prerogative of the general secretaries,” said Koirala, adding, “We should follow the norms and ethics, so the convention should be summoned by the central committee.”

As many as 54 percent of elected representatives of the party on October 15 had submitted a memorandum at party headquarters demanding the special convention. The petition remains valid for three months, as per Congress party charter.

Both general secretaries claimed that since they hold the executive positions in the party, they have the authority to summon the special convention.

“Under Clause 17 (2) of the party statute, addressing demands related to a special general convention is the responsibility of the central office, and the tasks under this responsibility will be carried out, as far as possible, through consensus,” they said.

Thapa and Sharma are holding a press conference on Friday morning to elaborate on their position.

As per their statement issued Thursday, the process of renewing active memberships has reached its final stage, and a total of 579,395 active memberships have been renewed so far.

Once the renewal process is complete in the remaining districts of Khotang, Bara, Kanchanpur, and Kailali, the total number of renewed memberships is estimated to exceed 600,000, they claimed.

Both Thapa and Sharma will make a request to the acting party president to implement the provisions of the party statute, said Siwakoti. “If the acting president does not convene the special convention, the general secretaries will be compelled to do so themselves.”

The party statute contains a mandatory provision that if 40 percent of the elected general convention representatives submit an application with signatures demanding a special general convention, it must be convened within three months.