Parallel activities of two rival factions of the Nepali Congress have unsettled the party’s leaders and cadres.

The establishment faction that was elected through the special convention in January is concerned over the recent activities of the dissident faction now led by Purna Bahadur Khadka and Dr Shekhar Koirala.

After the Election Commission validated the Congress led by Gagan Thapa ahead of the parliamentary elections, party leaders say that thousands of the party’s voters did not support its official candidates in the elections. Another large section that refused to join the Thapa-led Congress is now united under party leaders Khadka and Koirala. This faction has received support from ousted party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is now in Hong Kong after completing medical treatment in Singapore. The party’s leadership dispute is currently in the Supreme Court.

On Monday, the Khadka-Koirala camp organised an event to congratulate the party’s newly elected members of parliament and urged them to play an effective role in parliament despite the party's weak presence in the House. Although the party has 38 lawmakers (18 directly elected and 20 elected under proportional representation) in the new lower house, Only 11 attended the gathering.

Khadka has also called a meeting of the party’s district presidents on April 2. Those party presidents who did not participate in the special convention, which was organised by Thapa and leader Bishwa Prakash Sharma, have also been invited.

Following these developments, some office bearers of the Thapa camp also met on Monday and discussed the rival faction’s activities.

“This is a moral question because of the way he (Khadka) used the party’s official letterhead, stamp and unauthorised signature,” said Congress spokesperson Devraj Chalise, adding, “we are closely monitoring their activities.”

After Khadka and Koirala became active, the Thapa-led Congress has scheduled a meeting of the party's disciplinary committee for Wednesday.

A Thapa camp leader said, “After the arrest of [Congress leader and former home minister Ramesh] Lekhak, Khadka issued a statement using the party's official letterhead and this goes against party discipline. The disciplinary committee will discuss it along with other activities.”

Following the Khadka camp’s event on Monday and its decision to convene a meeting on Tuesday of the party’s [now dissolved] central working committee elected from the 14th General Convention, the Thapa camp hastily held a meeting to review the latest development within the party.

Dissident leader Koirala, however, defended the parallel activities.

“Such separate gatherings are natural inside a party. We have been practicing this for a long time,” Koirala told the gathering of the party’s new lawmakers. “This is something we have always been doing and continue to do.”

“We continue to have such meetings with you [lawmakers] regularly. We will be observing developments in parliament from the outside.”

After the parallel activities began, some Congress leaders have called for dialogue and unity between the two camps.

“These attempts aim at party unity, because unless senior leaders sit together, we have no future,” Ramhari Khatiwada, a leader close to Khadka camp, told the Post.

The party’s poor showing in the parliamentary elections and the arrest of party leader and former home minister Lekhak in connection with the crackdown on September youth protests have also added pressure for the party factions to come together, said leaders.

Besides Lekhak, another Congress leader Dipak Khadka has also been arrested by investigative agencies.

“We will not get anywhere if we split like this,” Khatiwada said, adding, “we should stop blaming each other for what happened in the past. There is no alternative besides uniting the party.”

Meanwhile, the meeting of the former central committee called by Khadka for Tuesday will continue for two days, a leader of the faction said.

Some provincial presidents of the party are also invited, according to the leader.

Out of seven, five provincial presidents have already joined the Thapa camp and attended the party’s meeting since the March 5 elections.

On Monday, Khadka also told the lawmakers of both houses of parliament that the issue of constitutional amendment could enter Parliament and urged them not to compromise on nationalism, self-respect, and the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Koirala also addressed the lawmakers.