Despite mounting pressure on Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to convene an early general convention and amend the party charter as recommended by the party’s Mahasamiti meeting last year, it is unlikely that he will consider them and made a compromise with the rival factions.

Deuba, whose leadership is under criticism after the party’s poor show in the 2017 elections, is being pressured by the rival factions and the party’s district presidents to amend the party charter.   

A two-day gathering of 52 district presidents concluded on Thursday, asking the party leadership to either make changes in the party statue as recommended by the Mahasamiti meeting or call a snap convention. The district leaders have said that they would launch a signature campaign to push for an early convention if their demand is not heeded.

The Mahasamiti meeting in December 2018 had decided, among other things, to amend the party’s charter to ensure a provision, whereby those leaders who aspire to contest for the party’s central working committee (CWC) should be first elected from the grassroots level—a proposition also supported by more than 50 district presidents of the party.

However, Deuba repudiated the proposal, saying that it would trim the chances of prospective party leaders getting elected in the CWC. And ignoring the Mahasamiti meeting’s decision, he got the charter approved with the majority votes through the CWC meeting on the third week of February.  

The Mahasamiti meeting and the party’s district presidents had also asked the CWC to end the cycle of picking same leaders under the proportional representation quota. The request, too, was ignored when the CWC meeting endorsed the party charter.The party has called the meeting of CWC on Saturday to discuss demands of the district presidents. Deuba’s loyalists say that the party president is not going to consider any grievances put forth by the rivals and the district party presidents.

“I do not see him considering the demands of the district presidents,”a close aide of Deuba told the Post. Deuba has already dismissed the district presidents’ meeting dubbing it a “gathering of some 20-25 people” during a media interaction in Biratnagar on Thursday.

“I will face the general convention if they (district presidents) can call it. The party will not call it because we have not felt the need to hold the early convention,” he had said.   

Jagadish Narsingh KC, one of the organisers of the NC’s district presidents’ meeting, said they will start a signature campaign if the upcoming CWC meeting does not consider their demands.

Some NC leaders, however, say that Deuba could split the unity of the district presidents if  they start the signature campaign. Party Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma said he does not see any chances of early general convention. “Other issues will be discussed and resolved at party central working committee meeting,” he said.