Most Nepali Congress leaders and activists who stayed away from the party’s special convention in January are now returning to the mainstream and preparing to take part in the 15th general convention, which begins on Sunday.

The special convention, held from January 11 to 14, elected Gagan Thapa as party president. It was attended by 54 percent of the party’s representatives from across the country. Of the 167-member central working committee led by then-president Sher Bahadur Deuba, only 30 members had participated.

Eight months later, that picture has changed significantly.

Another 70 central members who did not attend the special convention have since joined the central working committee under Thapa. Nineteen former office-bearers and central members joined on May 11, followed by 51 more on September 17.

Party spokesperson Devraj Chalise said 99.99 percent of the Congress leaders and activists would participate in the 15th general convention.

“The special convention had 54 percent participation. This is the regular general convention. Only a few individuals remain outside,” Chalise said. “This is a unity convention. This is the Nepali Congress mainstream. The party statute, the law and the constitution all recognise this as legitimate.”

Chalise said there was growing enthusiasm for the convention across the country and that divisions over participation in the special convention had effectively disappeared.

“Who attended and who did not attend the special convention is no longer an issue,” he said. “The old lines between factions have disappeared. The Congress is united. Everyone has participated. This is the Congress of yesterday, today and tomorrow.”

The shift has left Deuba with far fewer senior leaders than he had before the split.

Many politicians who previously backed the former party president are now aligned with the Thapa-led establishment and are preparing to attend the 15th general convention, which begins on Sunday at Khula Manch in Kathmandu.

Former central committee member Shyam Ghimire, who was previously aligned with Deuba, said the party was entering the convention as a united organisation.

“Many colleagues have come together with the aim of making the party more organised, stronger and united,” he said. “The picture has changed across the districts. The rank and file are in favour of party unity.”

Deuba has lost the backing of many of his former allies. Former acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka and leader Shekhar Koirala have also distanced themselves from his faction.

Among senior leaders, Deuba is now mainly backed by Shashank Koirala, Krishna Sitaula, Bimalendra Nidhi and Prakash Man Singh. Among the second tier are NP Saud, Ramesh Lekhak, Prakash Sharan Mahat, Mohan Bahadur Basnet, Shankar Bhandari, Deepak Khadka and Jeet Jung Basnet.

Shekhar Koirala, who challenged Deuba for the presidency at the 14th general convention, had stood by him after the special convention and attended meetings organised by the Deuba faction. More recently, however, he has stayed away from both the parallel conventions.

As Koirala withdrew from the convention process, most former central members who had previously supported him also joined the Thapa-led convention.

Khadka, who had become the second-ranking leader in the Deuba camp after serving as acting president, has likewise stayed away from both parallel conventions.

Among those who did not attend the special convention but have since left Deuba’s camp are former ministers Bal Krishna Khand, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Mahalakshmi Upadhyay ‘Dina’, Surendra Raj Pandey, Kishor Singh Rathore, Indra Bahadur Baniya, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, Shyam Ghimire, Min Bahadur Bishwakarma, Nain Singh Mahar, Sita Kumari Rana, Anil Rungta and Ganesh Lama.

Leaders including Ishwari Neupane, Ramhari Khatiwada, Sita Gurung and Minakshi Jha have also joined the Thapa-led convention.

Former vice president Dhan Raj Gurung and former central members Minendra Rijal, Dipak Giri, Govinda Bhattarai, Krishna Chandra Nepali, Kiran Yadav, Rukmini Koirala and Tek Prasad Gurung, who had previously been associated with the Shekhar Koirala camp, are also taking part.

Bishwakarma, who remained with Deuba until late in the process, said he was participating in the convention to strengthen party unity.

“There is no longer an issue of who belongs to which faction,” he said. “Everyone is Congress.”

Of the 164 members of the previous Deuba-led central working committee, only 31 are now said to remain with him.

Thapa had begun incorporating members of the previous central committee into the new structure before the general convention. On May 11, he nominated 19 former office-bearers and central members associated with the Deuba, Shekhar Koirala and Shashank Koirala camps.

Eleven of those nominated were from the Deuba camp and seven from the Koirala camp. They included Mahendra Yadav, Umesh Shrestha, Ramesh Rijal, Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya, Laxmi Pariyar, Angelu Sherpa, Dinesh Kumar Yadav, Rajiv Dhungana, Sushila Mishra Bhatta, Nagina Yadav and Jeevan Rana. Yadav had served as Deuba’s general secretary and Shrestha as treasurer.

Former Shekhar Koirala supporters Jeevan Pariyar, Sujata Koirala, Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, Chandra Kanta Bhandari, Rajiv Koirala, Govind Raj Pokharel and Dinsh Koirala were also appointed central members at the time. Pariyar had previously served as a general secretary.

Sita Thapaliya ‘Urmila’, who was regarded as being close to Shashank Koirala, was appointed to the central committee as well.

Former central member Govinda Pokharel said more than 80 percent of Congress leaders and activists nationwide had returned to the mainstream by the time the party moved from local-level conventions to the general convention.

Deuba presses ahead with parallel convention

Despite losing much of the support he once enjoyed, Deuba is proceeding with a separate convention.

The Thapa-led faction is holding the 15th general convention from October 4. The Deuba faction has announced that it will hold its own general convention from December 7 to 9.

One party now faces two parallel conventions.

Deuba’s supporters argue that the issue is not factional politics but the question of which organisational process is legally valid.

Former general secretary NP Saud said the Deuba faction was fighting to uphold the party’s institutional process. He maintains that the central working committee elected at the 14th general convention remains the legitimate committee and that Deuba remains the party president.

According to Saud, Deuba therefore has the authority to convene the 15th general convention.

“We have already begun the convention process. Conventions have been completed in around half of the wards,” Saud said. “The remaining ward conventions will be completed by next week. We will then proceed through the district and provincial conventions before holding the central general convention according to the scheduled calendar.”

He said the Election Commission had also been informed of the process.

Saud maintains that the commission made an erroneous decision in recognising the Thapa-led faction in the party dispute. He also points to ongoing legal proceedings, arguing that the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling is under review.

Until the court issues a new decision, he says, Deuba remains the legitimate party president and a convention held under his leadership would be the official one.

The dispute over whether the special convention should be held split the party in January.

The special convention, organised under Thapa’s leadership in late January, was held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu. More representatives than the required quorum attended and elected Thapa party president, creating a new central working committee.

The dispute over which side represented the legitimate Nepali Congress was then taken to the Election Commission.

On January 16, the commission recognised the Thapa-led faction. Direct nominations for the House of Representatives election were due on January 20, and party tickets were issued under Thapa’s signature.

Many of the leaders who are now backing Deuba subsequently contested the election with tickets issued by Thapa.

Thapa also assumed office at the party headquarters in Sanepa. Deuba left for Singapore before the election, citing medical treatment.

The Deuba faction challenged the commission’s decision in the Supreme Court. On April 17, the court also recognised the Thapa-led faction, effectively settling the legal dispute at that stage.

The two sides continued internal discussions aimed at reunifying the party, while the Deuba camp simultaneously held separate meetings and programmes.

A separate party office was established at Chundevi, with Shashank Koirala appointed coordinator.

The situation changed again after the Supreme Court agreed to review its April 17 ruling.

Deuba and former acting president Khadka had separately sought a review of the decision. On August 6, a full bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma and justices Nityananda Pandey and Shreekant Poudel allowed the review petition.

The original April 17 ruling had been delivered by a bench comprising Justices Saranga Subedi and Nrip Dhwoj Niraula.

The August 6 decision gave the Deuba faction renewed confidence and created uncertainty around the convention process being prepared by Thapa.

Petitions were also filed seeking to halt the Thapa-led convention. The Supreme Court rejected those petitions, allowing the Thapa faction to continue with its convention preparations.

The Deuba camp, meanwhile, has begun its own convention process.

With the review proceedings still before the Supreme Court, Deuba supporters argue that the question of the party’s legitimate leadership remains open until the court delivers its final decision.