Arjun Pokharel, Deputy Chairman of the Nepali Congress Provincial Assembly (2), said that as of Saturday, 24 out of 25 general convention delegates had openly supported a special general convention.
What you should know
Leaders close to Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Shekhar Koirala in the district have come out in favor of a special general convention. Congress central member Pushpa Bhusal Gautam, former district president Kamal Prasad Bhusal, former Lumbini provincial assembly member Nirmala Chhetri, Tarun Dal central member Kapil Pokharel and other leaders have come out in favor of a special general convention. Earlier, they were in favor of establishment.
At a program organized by Arghakhanchi Youth Congress in Kathmandu on Saturday, Pushpa, who is a former deputy speaker, said that she has always supported the special general convention as she was in favor of a change in leadership. Stating that the special general convention is natural according to the party statute, she said that the special general convention is inevitable to end the confusion and disputes within the party.
She was elected from Arghakhanchi Constituency 2 in 2064 as a candidate from the Deuba faction. Similarly, she was defeated in 2070. In 2074, she became the deputy speaker by becoming a proportional MP. She suffered defeat again in the 2079 elections.
Nirmala Chhetri, who became a proportional provincial MP from the Deuba faction in 2074, has also left the establishment faction and joined the special general convention campaign. She has also called for the special general convention to be successful. Pokharel, who was elected as a general convention representative from Tarun Dal by being close to Deuba, has signed in favor of a special general convention.
Deuba-side central member and former minister Man Bahadur Bishwakarma has not taken any side. Similarly, leaders from Shekhar's side, including Congress Lumbini Province Joint General Secretary Bishnu Muskan, District President Keshav Shrestha, have been campaigning in Kathmandu for a week in favor of a special general convention.
Shrestha, District Secretaries Achyut Gautam, Krishna Prasad Khanal had launched a signature campaign requesting leaders/workers to support the special general convention called by General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma. There are 25 general convention representatives in the district. The district president is automatically a general convention representative.
Except for former central members Revati Prasad Bhusal, Dr. Choplal Bhusal, and Himmat Tandon, all had signed in favor of a special general convention. Tandon said that even though he was unable to sign and attend the program due to illness, he stood in favor of change within the party. Koirala supporter Revati Prasad said that he played a role in uniting the party so that it would not split.
As of Saturday, 24 out of 25 general convention delegates had openly supported a special general convention, said Arjun Pokharel, deputy chairman of the Nepali Congress Provincial Assembly (2).
