Separate agendas were presented at the Congress Central Working Committee meeting on Tuesday after a consensus could not be reached on whether the party general convention would be held before or after the February 21 election. After General Secretary Gagan Thapa proposed the agenda for the general convention to be held from December 16 to 19, Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav, on the establishment side, brought the agenda for April 27 to 29 in the 'counter'.

In the Congress, there is a rule and tradition that the General Secretary presents the agenda of the meeting with the permission of the President. After the establishment party was not ready to hold the general convention before the House of Representatives elections, General Secretary Thapa proposed a schedule for holding the general convention in Poush. The dispute within the Congress has further escalated after the establishment party presented a 'counter' proposal, saying that Thapa's proposal was personal. 

Since the establishment party has a majority in the Central Working Committee, the possibility of Thapa's proposal being passed is low. The establishment party has already made a policy of accepting Joint General Secretary Yadav's proposal. This will further polarize the Congress and increase pressure for a special general convention. 

In the 18-page long proposal submitted by General Secretary Thapa with a blueprint for radical change, he has stated that a special general convention is inevitable if the regular general convention cannot be held. '54 percent of the general convention delegates have already submitted an application to the Central Working Committee demanding a special central general convention. "The decision to hold a special central general convention should be taken from this central working committee meeting as per the provisions of Article 17(2) of the statute," Thapa told the meeting. 

The party's statute has a mandatory provision to call a special general convention within three months of the demand for a special general convention. With the support of General Secretaries Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma, the general convention delegates had started signing for the special general convention. The petition with 54 percent signatures was registered at the party central office on 29 Asoj. Accordingly, the special general convention should be called by 27 Poush. But the establishment party is planning to ignore this and move forward. 

President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is undergoing treatment in Singapore, has also indicated through his close leaders that the special general convention should not be accepted. Deuba had given the responsibility of acting president to Vice President Khadka in the central working committee meeting on 28 Asoj and directed to prepare for the general convention within the time limit specified in the statute. 

Joint General Secretary Yadav says that he does not want any kind of general convention before the election. ‘The first priority of the Congress should be the election to bring the constitution back to normal. When the schedule for the proportional representation candidate selection and the National Assembly election has already been announced, there is no point in postponing the party’s internal general convention by two to four months,’ Yadav told Kantipur. ‘The party should move forward by focusing on the election.’ 

Seven former office bearers on the establishment side are seen opposing both the special and regular general convention. The efforts that have been going on for four days to reach an agreement on the agenda of the general convention before the election failed due to their own pressure. Acting President Khadka had adjourned the central working committee meeting from Friday to try to reach an understanding. After that also failed, a separate agenda was presented in the central working committee meeting. 

Leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who is on the establishment side, said that no general convention would be possible before the election. "We should form a parliamentary board for the election and select candidates for the National Assembly and prepare a list of proportional candidates for the House of Representatives election. At this time, we should not enter the competition for the general convention, but only the election agenda," he said. In the meeting, Sitaula had also objected to the video being made by General Secretary Thapa's secretariat with the intention of 'chasing' seven former office bearers. 

When asked by Kantipur whether this was said out of fear of the general convention, Sitaula said that if the agenda of restoring the parliament was sought without holding the election, the general convention would have been fine immediately. "Otherwise, how can the general convention be held when there are not even four months left for the election?" he said. He also mentioned that he was surprised that the general secretaries did not bring the election agenda to the meeting. 

Since the establishment party is not in favor of any kind of general convention before the general election, the attention of the two general secretaries Thapa and Sharma has shifted to preparing for the special general convention. The establishment side has been commenting that the general secretaries are in a hurry to take the lead in taking the stand that the general convention should be held before the election. But general secretary Thapa has said that he is ready to resign from the executive post and become only an ordinary member to fulfill his responsibility of reforming the party. 

 ‘The understanding of the two general secretaries is that if we go without a general convention, the party will be surrounded by questions. We must go to the election with answers. For this, a general convention is inevitable. If the two general secretaries are ready, rather than not fighting, let's hold a general convention. Some of you go and take responsibility. We are ready, are you ready?’ He said, ‘But now is not the time to delay, it is the time to decide.’

Even the general convention representatives who signed for the special general convention have devised a strategy to pressure the central office bearers and members. In a meeting organized at a banquet in Thapagaun on Tuesday, they warned that a serious crisis would arise within the party if the special general convention is not accepted as the only option. Of the 2,488 delegates who signed the demand for a special convention, about 1,000 were present at the gathering. 

The leaders leading the special convention called the gathering of delegates available in Kathmandu in Thapagaun. A leader informed that party presidents of 29 districts, office bearers of the provincial executive committee, regional presidents, and representatives of fraternal organizations were also present at the gathering. At the gathering, the leaders had said that the risk of party division would increase if the special convention requested was not called rather than if it was called using the authority provided in the statute. They also said that the establishment-oriented leaders who should be trying to solve the problem were trying to increase the dispute by bringing the agenda of the convention to the 'counter'. 

The gathering, chaired by youth leader Gururaj Ghimire, has concluded that only a special convention can unite the party. 'There has been a provision for a special convention since the 2017 statute. There is no question of the party splitting if the provisions in the party statute are practiced. The main conclusion of today's gathering is that practicing this will ensure unity,' said another youth leader Dilliram Subedi, 'A special general convention should be held within the next 70 days. For that, we will move forward with pressure programs, and we will confront the establishment's intimidation of the representatives who have signed.' 

7 Former office bearers in the 'Chakrabyuh' of Congress

At the gathering, former Nuwakot District Committee President Jagadish Narsingh KC commented that the Central Working Committee was innocent when President Deuba ran the party from Singapore, even though he was given the responsibility of the acting president. 'The president was seen in a strategy of blaming the acting president and fulfilling his political goals. Even now, the party is running from Singapore, Sanepa is innocent,' he said, 'After returning from Singapore, there is a chance that Deuba himself will return to active politics. That is why a special general convention is mandatory before the elections.'

Thapa's party reform proposals 

The document presented by General Secretary Thapa to the Central Working Committee has put forward a blueprint to make the Congress capable, accountable and people-oriented in the politics of the new era. He also mentioned in the document that it is time to break the old patterns and bring the new generation to the center of the decision-making process.

‘The tradition of talking about reforms but delaying decisions must end now. We must take bold decisions to make the Congress a tool for the movement of history, we must radically change the party’s structure, leadership selection, membership system and candidate selection process,’ he said. 

At the Congress meeting, General Secretary Thapa said – I am ready to leave the executive post and remain as an ordinary member

General Secretary Thapa has proposed to make party membership open and easy for everyone, ensure equal participation of party members in the decision-making process, ensure strong representation of the new generation, women and diverse communities at all levels, and make arrangements for the mandatory participation of youth under 30 years of age from the ward level to the central level. ‘Now the issue of leadership succession should not be limited to slogans,’ he said, ‘The entry of a new generation into the decision-making level is the basis of the party’s vitality.’ 

Thapa said that leadership should be selected through the ‘primary election’ system from the local level to the center and the culture of imposition from above should be ended. ‘The party’s structure is complex and full of slow decision-making. Making it timely, fast and accountable is our first responsibility,’ he wrote in the document, ‘The structure should be rebuilt so that representatives of community, profession, religion, language and geographical area participate in an appropriate proportion. Separate quotas should be arranged on the basis of caste, profession and region.’