The Nepali Congress on Tuesday began preparations for its 15th general convention, scheduled for October 2-5, despite opposition from the faction led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, the former chief of the party.

The party has deployed 85 election officers to all 77 districts to conduct lower-level conventions. Party president Gagan Kumar Thapa announced the move at a training for election officers at the Congress central office in Sanepa, Lalitpur, and appealed to leaders outside the current central working committee to join.

The move comes as the Deuba faction prepares to move court, seeking an interim order to suspend the convention schedule until the Supreme Court settles the faction’s review petition concerning the legitimacy of the special general convention held in January. The convention, held in the wake of the Gen Z movement, elected Thapa as party president.

Thapa said he wanted to make one final effort to settle the dispute politically. He said concerns about membership and the fairness and transparency of the convention could be addressed through a new mechanism or committee.

“Since the main issues for unity are linked to the fairness of the general convention and membership, I am ready to form whatever mechanism or committee is necessary,” said Thapa. “If there are concerns about irregularities, bias or doubts over membership, I am ready for an open discussion and to form a necessary committee. If a mechanism is needed to ensure a fair convention, I am ready to form that too.”

The election committee, led by senior advocate Prem Bahadur Khadka, has revised the lower-level timetable in an effort to accommodate the Deuba camp. Ward conventions are scheduled for September 9 and local-level conventions for September 12. The remaining conventions, including district and provincial ones are to be completed by September 26.

A key feature is that even sitting central office-bearers and members seeking central posts must first contest from the ward level. That makes ward conventions particularly important.

A central management committee has been formed under party president Thapa’s coordination to oversee the 15th general convention. Party spokesperson Devraj Chalise said at a press conference at the party headquarters in Sanepa that additional members would be appointed to the committee later.

According to Chalise, the main committee has also formed several subcommittees to handle accommodation, food arrangements, stage management, hospitality and health services, among other responsibilities. The names of the coordinators and other members of these subcommittees will be made public later, he said.

Thapa will present the main political proposal at the general convention, with particular emphasis on the theme ‘The Coming Decade, Democracy and the Congress’. Party vice-president Bishwa Prakash Sharma will present a proposal on ‘The Decline in Political Culture and the Need for Transformation in Tune with the Times’, while another Vice-president, Pushpa Bhusal, will present a special proposal on provincial elections. General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire will present the organisational proposal, and another general secretary, Pradeep Paudel, will present the proposal on the party statute. Chalise has been appointed coordinator of the publicity committee.

According to party insiders, Thapa had sought a meeting with Deuba on Tuesday, and leaders close to him said the two could meet on Wednesday.

The Deuba faction, however, says the establishment’s decision to proceed is unacceptable while the Supreme Court review remains unresolved. Leader Prakash Sharan Mahat said his faction was not prepared to attend a convention under Thapa’s leadership after the Supreme Court allowed a review of its April 17 ruling that had upheld the Election Commission’s recognition of the Thapa-led central working committee.

“Deuba was removed from the presidency in an unnatural manner through the so-called special general convention,” said Mahat. “Now that the review has been allowed, holding the general convention under his leadership would strengthen party unity and respect the court and leaders and cadres across the country.”

Mahat said Deuba’s return to the presidency was not the objective of the 15th convention. “Sher Bahadur dai will not become president again through the 15th general convention. Those who believe they are popular can contest and become president through the 15th convention,” he said.

Mahat warned that the Deuba faction would go to court if the convention process continued without an agreement. “The convention process has been announced now, and it is being forced through. This proves that they are not interested in unity,” said Mahat. “If the process is pushed ahead forcefully, we will go to court. We are receiving legal advice for that.”

The Election Commission recognised Thapa’s leadership on January 16. Deuba and then acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka challenged the decision at the Supreme Court, arguing that the commission had acted without giving them a proper opportunity to be heard and that the special convention violated party rules and constitutional provisions.

The Supreme Court on April 17 upheld the Election Commission’s decision, recognising the Thapa-led faction as the legitimate Congress leadership. Deuba and Khadka then sought a review, and the court recently allowed the petition to proceed.

A three-justice bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma and justices Nityananda Pandey and Shreekanta Paudel on August 6 issued the order while responding to separate review petitions filed by former party president Deuba and former acting president Khadka.

The Deuba faction’s national gathering on August 14-16 also endorsed that position. It has since hardened its stance, saying the convention should either be conducted under Deuba or postponed until the review case is settled.

The January special convention followed a prolonged disagreement over when and how the regular convention should be held. The Thapa camp argued that a special convention was necessary after the previous leadership failed to advance the regular process, while the Deuba camp opposed the move.

Thapa claimed that the party was obliged to hold the general convention on the scheduled date because of the country’s constitution, the party statute, decisions of the special general convention, and court orders.

The Congress statute requires that the general convention must be held every four years. In exceptional circumstances, the term can be extended by a year. The five-year period since the 14th general convention will expire in mid-December. Separately, the constitution requires political parties to hold their conventions within five-and-a-half years. Congress therefore must hold its general convention by mid-June 2027 and failure to do so could raise questions over the party’s legal status.

General Secretary Paudel, however, said the party would hold the convention on the scheduled date in line with the mandate of the special general convention and the provisions of the party statute.