The Nepali Congress has postponed a meeting of its central working committee that was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, rescheduling it for Wednesday at 8am, while the special convention endorses the general secretaries' reports.

Party spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said the meeting was deferred in the hope that an agreement could be reached through ongoing dialogue. “There is no benefit for anyone in pushing the party towards division—neither for the Nepali people nor for the country,” Mahat told reporters. He urged the faction advocating a special convention not to steer the party towards a split, assuring that the sentiments of all sides would be respected within the party.

The meeting, called by the party establishment faction for 1pm on Tuesday, was postponed without convening. The delay comes as the party’s special convention continues in Kathmandu, reflecting deepening divisions between rival camps.

Party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, reportedly unwilling to listen to any demands of leadership change and the change of policies prior to general convention scheduled in May, seems concerned at the remarkable participation of party cadres and leaders in the special convention called without his consent.

Meanwhile, the closed-door session of the Nepali Congress special convention concluded on Tuesday after endorsing, by a majority, political reports presented by general secretaries Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma. The reports were tabled on Monday and passed after both leaders responded to questions and concerns raised by delegates at the session held at Bhrikutimandap.

Addressing the closed session earlier in the day, Thapa said that the authority to decide on the party’s internal problems rested solely with the special convention hall, not with negotiations held outside it. While acknowledging that dialogue among leaders was ongoing, he insisted that no decision could be finalised beyond the mandate of the convention delegates.

Thapa also rejected rumours that internal discussions were linked to bargaining over election tickets, calling such claims an attempt to undermine the seriousness of the convention. Thousands of representatives, he said, had been engaged for days in deliberations aimed at reforming the party, not pursuing personal interests.

Reiterating his stance, Thapa said the party needed both leadership and policy changes to move in the right direction, adding that the ongoing electoral process within the party would proceed as scheduled and would not be suspended.

With rival factions standing firm on their positions, the postponement of the central working committee meeting underscores the fragile state of negotiations within Nepal’s oldest political party, even as leaders publicly appeal for unity and restraint.