Due to internal disputes in the Congress, former President Sher Bahadur Deuba, former Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka, leader Shekhar Koirala and other leaders have not updated their memberships even before the expiry of the deadline. The deadline for updating memberships expired on Thursday. 

There is concern in Congress circles that since top leaders are left out of the membership update process, their memberships will automatically become inactive or that the leadership will pave a separate way. General Secretary Pradeep Poudel, who is also the coordinator of the membership update campaign, says that those who missed out by the new membership distribution period will be included in the update. 

The deadline for distributing new memberships has been set for 20 Ashad. ‘If anyone who missed out by that period wants to update, they can contact the center, and we will arrange it,’ he said, ‘we will create a more comfortable environment for the leaders.’ 

Former President Deuba is abroad with his wife Arju Rana. Deuba had gone to Singapore for health treatment before the 21 Falgun elections. Arju also went to Singapore via Delhi. In the meantime, they had reached Hong Kong. Their whereabouts have not been made public. 

General Secretary Poudel said that despite not being able to contact them directly, Deuba has been urging them to update their membership. “Since all the processes are online, membership can also be updated from abroad,” he said. 

Along with leaders Deuba, Khadka, and Koirala, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Prakash Man Singh, Bimalendra Nidhi, Shashank Koirala, Bal Bahadur KC, Vijay Kumar Gachhadar, Prakash Sharan Mahat, Dhanraj Gurung, Badri Pandey, and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki have also not updated their memberships. Similarly, NP Saud, Ramesh Lekhak, Shyam Ghimire, Shankar Bhandari, Mahalaxmi Upadhyay (Dina), Ambika Basnet, Bir Bahadur Balayar, Mohan Bahadur Basnet, Umakanta Chaudhary, and Jitjung Basnet are also out of this process. 

According to the Congress, the number of active members eligible for updating is 782,209. Of these, 538,622 have already updated their membership, according to the Congress Central Office. According to a statement issued by the Central Office, 148,309 are in the process of updating their membership.

Deuba and Koirala-supporting leaders are adamant that they should be allowed to participate in the general convention based on the old renewal and not on the current update. However, President Gagan Thapa has been saying that only members who have updated their membership will be allowed to participate in the upcoming 15th general convention. Other party officials also share this view. The party's 15th general convention is scheduled to be held from 14-19 Asoj. It will begin with the ward convention on 2 Bhadra.

The issue of membership update that has arisen on the eve of the 15th general convention is not only about the management of leaders but also about the competition of the future leadership. Since the selection of general convention delegates and voting rights are based on active membership, the other parties have been making the establishment of the update a political issue rather than a technical one.

On 24 Jestha, former acting president Khadka and on 11 Jestha, leader Shekhar Koirala had said that an environment would be created for all those who had renewed their membership by 10 Poush 2082 to participate in the 15th General Convention.

Koirala has been of the opinion that renewal should not be made compulsory to participate in the General Convention. Khadka has expressed his determination to leave without guaranteeing that they will be able to participate in the General Convention. 

‘No one can deprive or make us deprive our friends who have renewed their membership for the 15th General Convention and have taken new active memberships from participating in the General Convention on the pretext of not updating them,’ Khadka wrote on social media on 28 Jestha.

General Secretary Poudel said that a special request was made to all leaders via telephone before the deadline for updating. According to him, Khadka and Koirala did not come into contact. Poudel said that more than a dozen other leaders who came into contact did not update their membership despite the request. "I urge senior leaders who have spent their lives in the Congress to get involved in the work that is in favor of the party. Many members have joined in a short time. A digital platform has been created. All the party's activities have started to be done online. All the leaders should be happy and encourage this, they should cooperate, but it is not right for them not to update themselves," he said, "Nothing has gone wrong yet. If you express your desire even now, we will update it easily." 

General Secretary Poudel said that since there is still time and efforts for unity are ongoing, the party has not yet decided what to do if the update is not done now. He said that only members who have updated will be allowed to participate in the general convention. 

Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi says that the issue of updating the fund is 'dishonest'. He said that the approximately 600,000 members who were renewed by 10 Poush 2082 when Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma were general secretaries should be maintained. According to him, this is the main and first condition for party unity. ‘At that time, there were about 600,000 renewals. That should be maintained. Some districts and areas were exempted, that should be included. Those who came from other parties should be given membership on the eve of the election,’ he said, ‘Why renew it again if it has already been renewed? It is not necessary.’

Another leader from the other party said that doubts have been raised about the fairness of the general convention due to the decision that only renewed members should be allowed to participate in the general convention. ‘The renewal is being done unilaterally. We understand that it is an attempt to hold the general convention by excluding old members who disagree with them,’ he said, ‘That is why all those who have renewed before should be recognized.’

Leader NP Saud said that the issue of membership is becoming complicated for unity. He says that the other party’s stance that all those who have renewed in the past should be recognized in the general convention and the establishment party’s stance that membership will not remain if they do not renew has created difficulties for unity. "Even though the legal dispute of the special general convention has been resolved, the political issues of the half of the party that did not participate in it still remain. Our proposal is that a mechanism should be formed by combining the 14th general convention and the special general convention to maintain political unity," he said. "Once this is agreed upon, there is no major problem regarding the process." 

Badri Pandey, a leader close to Koirala, says that the key to unity lies in the hands of President Thapa. He says that the renewal that was done earlier for the 15th general convention should be maintained and the party should go to the general convention. He says that they have not updated it to create an environment where all those who have renewed can participate in the general convention. "The president is expected to make an effort to include the parties that did not participate in the special general convention. He has the upper hand. If the entire party is united and takes it to the general convention, it will send a big message of unity," he said. "Yesterday, Girija Prasad Koirala also united with Sher Bahadur Deuba, considering it necessary. Today's Girija Prasad is Gagan Thapa. Our expectation is that unity will be achieved soon.'