The Election Commission has granted the official status of the Nepali Congress party to Gagan Thapa's faction. The Commission's meeting held on Friday decided to update the decisions made by the special general convention, giving legitimacy to it.

Immediately after the Election Commission recognized the Central Working Committee elected from the special general convention, President Gagan Thapa said in a conversation with Kantipur that he will now move forward by including all leaders and cadres, including former President Deuba.

Highlights of the conversation with him:

• On 28 Asoj, Sher Bahadur Deuba had gone 'gracefully', everyone had thanked him. He should have stuck to that decision.
• We are not walking around saying that we will overthrow the government, we have been trying to change the leadership since yesterday. We had tried to change it in the previous general convention as well, we had also tried to change it from the leader of the parliamentary party.
• What is expected of the respected leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is that the decision to hold a special general convention in the party was made, the constitutional institution we created gave the test to it, whatever happened till yesterday, happened, now we should call on the entire party to move forward unitedly. I need Deuba's blessings, I also need Purna Bahadur Khadka's good wishes. All of us in the party are in one place, no one has left this party by dividing it. 
• After the 23-24 Bhadau movement, I met Deuba only once on 28 Ashoja. But I was in contact by telephone. The day after the attack on Deuba on 24 Bhadau, Bishwo Prakash Sharma and I issued a statement condemning him.
• Deuba was ready to hold a regular general convention in Mangsir, but some people kept saying that they would not give it by name.
• From today, I am the president of the Nepali Congress, now the decision made by someone else as the acting president of the Congress is not recognized by the constitution, the law, or the statute.
• It is said that Sher Bahadur Deuba and Arju Rana will not contest elections anymore. It is a matter of right for every member of the party to have aspirations, but now one level and rank should take a break.
• Some of our votes may not be in the list of proportional candidates, but those who have been included are from the party. We should not consider that too difficult.
• To maintain the sanctity of democracy, we should not form alliances before the election. In this election, the Congress will take its candidates in 165 constituencies. We will not ask for votes except for the tree symbol.
• The party has already decided to form an alliance in the National Assembly election, and party institutions are a continuation of that. The House of Representatives and the National Assembly should not be viewed in the same place.
• Shekhar Koirala had called on his friends to return home only yesterday, and I expect that he will now make the same call.

Watch the full interview: