Former Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction has decided to proceed with a parallel general convention after the party leadership led by President Gagan Thapa refused to halt its convention process.

The Deuba camp plans to begin ward conventions on October 1 and hold its central convention from December 7 to 9, according to leaders at a press conference on Saturday.

Shashank Koirala, coordinator of the faction’s convention organising committee, said preparations would follow the timetable. “We had wanted a convention of unity. When that was not possible, we began preparing for our own convention,” said Koirala.

The latest dispute centres on the legal status of the special general convention held in January, which elected Thapa as party president. The Election Commission recognised the leadership, and the Supreme Court in April upheld that recognition. Deuba and former acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka later secured permission to seek a review in the apex court. The review has reopened the dispute, but the earlier verdict remains in force.

The Thapa-led Congress has continued preparations for its 15th general convention, scheduled for October 2-5. Its ward conventions began on September 19.

General Secretary Pradeep Paudel said the party had little room to change the October dates because the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling referred to preparations for a convention during that period. “We became compelled to hold the central convention on the scheduled date because an agreement to withdraw the case and change the date could not be reached with former president Deuba,” said Paudel.

The Deuba faction says the review petition means the leadership dispute remains unresolved. NP Saud said his side had to proceed after the rival faction moved ahead. “When one side has already entered the convention process, we are also compelled to prepare for our own convention while keeping the possible outcome of the review in mind,” said Saud.

Deuba’s camp argues that the leadership elected at the 14th general convention should organise the 15th convention. But the Thapa group says the special convention was legally recognised.

The dispute has also caused a significant realignment inside the Deuba camp. More than 30 leaders formerly aligned with Deuba have agreed to join the Thapa-led convention process after Thapa’s side offered to accommodate members elected under the 14th general convention.

Meanwhile, Deuba’s faction has appointed election coordinators in 56 districts. Deepak Kuikel said the organisers had submitted 783,836 active memberships to the election committee, comprising 573,269 renewed memberships and 210,567 newly distributed memberships.

Kuikel said at least two representatives aged 18 to 28 would be ensured at each level, from ward committees to the central working committee, while workers and professional intellectuals would also receive representation.

Deuba is set to lead the parallel convention, although he has not regularly attended the faction’s office in Chundevi. Koirala has been handling day-to-day coordination. Deuba returned to Nepal in August after spending about five months abroad.

Dismissing the rumours, Prakash Sharan Mahat said Deuba would remain in Nepal until the party’s convention. “He will stay here. There is no plan for him to leave, especially when he has the responsibility of completing the convention,” said Mahat.

The rival convention processes have left the Congress facing a prolonged organisational and legal dispute, with the Supreme Court review still pending. The split has further deepened after several former Deuba supporters joined the Thapa-led process, despite calls from both sides for dialogue and a possible compromise before the conventions.