The establishment faction has rejected the agenda proposed by General Secretary Gagan Thapa to hold the Congress general convention within Mangsir. Most of the establishment faction leaders, including acting president Khadka, in the performance committee are in favor of not holding the party's general convention before the general elections scheduled for 21 Falgun.

There is a tradition of taking the agenda to the Central Working Committee only with the consent of the president. Earlier, the agenda was decided by the office bearers' meeting. After Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka took over the responsibility of the acting president, he has started calling the Central Working Committee meeting instead of the office bearers' meeting, which is not provided for in the statute. Thapa had proposed the agenda in the Working Committee meeting held on Thursday morning to reach an agreement on the general convention.

According to a leader of the Congress, the leaders of the establishment party are not in favor of holding both the special and regular general convention within Mangsir. Since the establishment-dominated Working Committee has not reached an agreement, there are indications that the agenda for holding the general convention within Mangsir will not even enter the Central Working Committee meeting. General Secretaries Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma have been saying that even if the regular general convention is not held, the special general convention cannot be postponed.

An application for a special general convention was submitted to the central office on 29 Asoj with the signatures of 54 percent of the delegates of the 14th general convention. Gururaj Ghimire, the leader leading the special general convention, says that a special general convention is certain after the central working committee tried to postpone the regular general convention. ‘If the decision to call a regular general convention had been taken within Mangsir, the demand for a special general convention could have been made inactive, but since there has been apathy in that direction, now we have moved towards ensuring a special general convention,’ he says, ‘There is no alternative to calling a special general convention within three months after the demand has been made. It cannot be evaded or avoided.’

The central working committee meeting, which was postponed on Saturday due to the death of former central member Hrishikesh Gautam, has now been called only after Tihar. According to central member Ramhari Khatiwada, the meeting will be held from 13 Kartik. ‘If the election is held on 21 Falgun, holding the general convention in Mangsir may affect the election,’ he says, ‘In order to focus all attention on the greater unity within the party and the election, we should not make the time before or after a while an ego.’

Leader Ghimire says that pressure will be put on the Central Working Committee to fix the date of the special general convention after Tihar. The party statute has a binding provision that if 40 percent of the general convention delegates sign a demand for a special general convention, the Central Working Committee must call it within three months.

The first option put forward by General Secretary Thapa as a proposal mentions holding the central general convention directly after the selection of the central delegates. For this, the issue of active membership will be finalized by 21 Kartik, the membership list will be submitted to the election committee on 7 Mangsir, then ward conventions will be held on 12 and 13 Mangsir, the selection of constituency, regional, and central general convention delegates to the House of Representatives on 21 Mangsir, and the conclusion of the public relations committee convention. He proposes to hold the central general convention on 27-29 Mangsir immediately after the regional convention.

Another option is to hold all-level conventions. Under this, he proposes to finalize the active membership by 21 Kartik, submit the list of names to the election committee by mid-Kartik, hold a ward convention on 8 Mangsir on the same day, a provincial assembly convention on 12 Mangsir, and a convention of the House of Representatives constituency, central general convention representatives, and public relations committee on 15 Mangsir. The representatives of the central general convention are elected from the regional convention of the House of Representatives. General Secretary Thapa has proposed a schedule to hold the central general convention on 27-29 after completing the district convention on 18 Mangsir and the regional convention on 21 Mangsir.

The establishment party is divided

Opinions are divided within the establishment party on whether to hold a regular general convention within Mangsir or not. More than half a dozen members of the establishment faction who spoke at the central working committee meeting on Friday demanded a regular general convention within Mangsir.

Central members Bharat Kumar Shah, Pushpa Bhusal, Dila Sangraula, Arjun Kumar Joshi, Zipchiring Lama, Muktakumari Yadav, Maikulal Valmiki, Narayani Rayamajhi and others said that a regular general convention should be held within Mangsir. Joshi, a central member of the establishment faction, said that the regular general convention should be held within Mangsir without interpreting the statement made by President Deuba in his favor. ‘This situation has come to this today when leaders consider power as private property and a pawn. Today, there are gen-ji in everyone’s homes. There is a challenge within the home. We have reached this situation by turning a blind eye to factions and factions,’ Joshi said, ‘This is not the time to hold a general convention before or after the elections.’ It is necessary to hold the general convention within the time frame.'

Central members Bhusal and Sangraula had demanded that a regular general convention be held within Mangsir, saying that a special general convention would create a divided mentality within the party after the completion of the four-year term. Another member Lama stated that the current situation has arisen due to the alliance between the Congress and the UML and said that everyone should be alert now. 'This situation has arisen due to sometimes removing Kulman, sometimes removing the Minister of State and not properly evaluating the government,' he said. 'When more than 50 percent of the general convention delegates have signed and demanded a special general convention, holding a regular general convention within Mangsir is the appropriate option.' Member Muktakumari Yadav said that the schedule for the regular general convention should be announced within Mangsir.

Central member Pradeep Poudel emphasized that the schedule for the 15th general convention should be brought immediately, keeping in mind the current rebellion, the demand for a special general convention, increasing youth involvement and the scheduled elections to the House of Representatives. He said that if it is difficult to hold a regular general convention, a special general convention should be called. ‘The party should move forward with new energy with a fresh mandate and leadership. This will increase the entry of new youth. It will have the power to solve the country’s problems,’ said Poudel, ‘Thank you to the friends who proposed a special general convention. In the current situation, postponing or extending the party convention on this or that pretext will push the party and the country into serious crisis.’

Gandaki Province Working Committee President Shukraraj Sharma supported the demand for a special general convention. But he urged that the regular general convention be scheduled instead of a special one. Sharma also said that President Deuba should clarify why the events of 23-24 Bhadra took place. ‘The Congress’s governance problems are also responsible for this situation, and the Congress should apologize for this,’ he said.

Most of the leaders of the establishment party have been aggressive towards the general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma, who have been demanding a regular general convention in Mangsir, or a special general convention if not regular. Especially the leaders who have repeatedly stood on the side of the establishment party are in favor of not holding a regular general convention in Mangsir.

Sudurpaschim Province Working Committee President Bir Bahadur Balayar raised a question as to why the work of active membership could not be done to hold the general convention in Mangsir. The Congress statute gives the right to distribute and renew active membership to the general secretaries. 'Why not complete the distribution and renewal of membership to hold a regular general convention in Mangsir and demand a special general convention by getting the signatures of the delegates of the general convention whose term has expired?' Balayar's question was that. He said that the party's general convention was not possible before the elections to the House of Representatives.