The Nepali Congress has decided to hold its 15th general convention from May 11 to 14 in Kathmandu. The party’s central work execution committee endorsed a proposal to this effect on Friday.

But the decision was challenged by the party’s general secretaries duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma.

“As per the party charter, we will hold a special convention on January 11 and 12,” said Thapa after the meeting. He appealed to Congress leaders to gather for the special convention.

Thapa wrote a note of dissent at Friday’s meeting, stating that as the party has failed to hold the convention by the middle of January, the proposal to organise a special convention has been automatically activated.

Earlier, the party had decided to hold its 15th convention from January 10 to 12 in Kathmandu. But the proposed convention was deferred indefinitely citing the time constraints and inadequate preparations—at a time when some party leaders were pushing for a special convention for leadership change.

The amended schedule of the party’s 15th convention was approved by Friday’s meeting, senior leader Shashank Koirala said after the meeting.

Acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka had proposed a new date to hold the convention on May 11–14, Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi said.

But the two general secretaries strongly opposed the decision to hold the convention after the March election. They argue that the party should reform as per the spirit of the Gen Z movement and that the current leadership of the Congress should change before March.

The earlier proposal was to organise the 15th convention from January 10 to 15 but due to the time constraints and other technical reasons, the party failed to hold its biggest gathering.

When the regular convention was pushed back from the proposed January dates, Thapa and Sharma took up the special convention proposal in keeping with the demand of the majority of the party’s elected representatives.

“Why does the party charter provision a special convention?” Thapa raised the question while responding to reporters after the meeting. “We still hope the party president himself will call a special convention as he’s been saying that he will keep party unity intact.”

At Friday’s meeting, the acting president, adding a procedure, proposed new dates for the general convention, Thapa said. The proposal refers to Article 43 of the charter. “Four or five of us had a differing opinion, but it was passed by a majority,” he said. A special general convention must be held within three months of the demand. The final deadline for holding a special convention is mid-January, Thapa stressed.

“We will wait a couple of days for how the party president and acting party president will react,” said Thapa. “Otherwise, we will move with the proposal to convene the special convention.”

The day (December 1) the central committee decided to hold the 15th general convention from January 10 to 12, the relevance of the special convention ended, Khadka told the meeting while proposing a new date for the convention.

Khadka proposed holding ward level conventions from April 4, followed by five other conventions up to the central convention within the second week of May.

The meeting also extended the term and mandate of the central working committee until June 15, party spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said.

A central working committee meeting of the party on December 1 had proposed to extend the term and mandate of the present central working committee till mid-February as the four-year tenure of all elected bodies of the party was expiring in mid-December.

Since the Gen Z movement of September 8–9, the Congress has been seriously engulfed in a row over whether to hold the party convention before or after the March House.

This dispute has continued for two-and-a-half months, after Deuba appointed Khadka acting president on October 14.

Many Congress leaders fear that the special convention, spearheaded by the general secretaries, could split the party. But Thapa and Sharma see the convention as an opportunity for leadership change. Since Deuba cannot contest for a third term as president, Thapa is an aspiring candidate for party president.

On Friday, 25 central committee members of the Nepali Congress met Deuba and drew his attention to the deepening crisis in the party. They urged him to stop the special convention summoned by Thapa and Sharma.

Deuba expressed a similar kind of frustration and disappointment, said Dila Sangraula. Deuba reportedly expressed his wish to avoid a party split while dismissing the possibility of the special convention.

These 25 central committee members wanted to call a regular convention ahead of the elections. “We have urged President Deuba to stop the special convention. Otherwise, it could lead to a party division,” Sangraula said. “We have suggested that a regular convention can resolve this dispute.”

On the other hand, supporters of the special convention held a press conference on Friday morning to clarify the urgency of holding the special convention. As many as 54 elected representatives to the general convention submitted a memorandum to the party headquarters on October 15 demanding a special convention if the party failed to hold the regular 15th general convention.

“We are confident that the party leadership will fulfil the responsibility of holding the special convention on January 11–12,” said Subash Pokhrel, a supporter of the special convention.

“We want to make it clear that this demand should not be seen as a win or loss for anyone, but as an opportunity to maintain the unity of the party, preserve internal democracy, and hold ourselves accountable to the people.

“We humbly request the party leadership to move forward with new energy, unity, and direction for the Nepali Congress by holding the special convention,” said Pokhrel.

Another leader, Devraj Chalise, said that if 40 percent of the elected representatives request a special convention with valid reasons, there is a binding provision to call a central convention within 90 days.

“This is not voluntary. It is directive and binding. It must be done. This is stated in the party charter. The central committee has no luxury to violate the party charter’s provision,” he said.

Later in the afternoon, the 25 central committee members who met Deuba on Friday morning met Thapa and Sharma and expressed their concerns that the developments could even cause a split in the party.

They asked Thapa and Sharma how the issue would be addressed and what was the guarantee that a special convention would keep the party intact—especially in view of the fast-approaching House of Representatives elections.

“They [Thapa and Sharma] promised that the party will not split under any circumstances and trust the party president to resolve the dispute,” said Sangraula.