Parties with a long history have gone through many stages of success and failure, ups and downs, obstacles and solutions, crises and solutions. They have endured the achievements of unity and the wounds of division. They have moved forward as carriers of the dreams and aspirations of the people, which is why those parties are not just organizations of limited leaders and cadres but have become established as public assets. The Congress is such a party.

Formed to free the people from the darkness of Rana rule and spread the light of democracy, this party has gone through many ups and downs in the past eight decades. But after the Gen-G movement, the special general convention has begun with the challenge of addressing the voice of generational leadership and policy reforms sought in established parties including the Congress.

If the Congress special general convention is understood as a battle of tactics between the parties and the opposition within the party, it will be considered to have devalued the practice of democracy and the aspiration for change. If the intervention of the youth ranks in the working style of the leadership, which has become a hindrance in traditional parties, is considered, the special general convention of the Congress will become a milestone in Nepal's political and democratic movement.

Nepali society, plagued by the race for leadership positions in the name of alliances, political instability and misrule, has long demanded a change in leadership. Ignoring this, communist parties like the UML and the Nepali Communist Party (former Maoist) have started considering the authoritarian leadership as their right and pride. Although the leadership of the democratic party, the Congress, has changed periodically, the mindset of the leadership remains the same. That is certainly a matter of concern. And, the Gen-G movement was an explosion against that trend.

Addressing the Congress Central Working Committee meeting held a month after the Gen-G rebellion, President Sher Bahadur Deuba had announced his separation from active politics and urged his fellow leaders to lead the party on a democratic path and style. Yes, at that time, Deuba also received sympathy from within and outside the Congress after a long gap. Deuba, who went to Singapore and gave the responsibility of acting president to Purna Bahadur Khadka, has taken over the party's 'political affairs' in his hands as soon as he returned.

Moreover, in the meantime, the way he interfered with the rules and regulations in the proportional representation of the House of Representatives and the selection of party candidates for the National Assembly elections has sent a clear message that he has not improved. The nature and style of an individual may remain the same, but a democratic party like the Congress cannot remain the same, so now the intervention of the younger generation is natural, inevitable and welcome. 

Most party leaders in Nepal have made the organization look like a private company. They have made the thread of democratic process, collective decision-making and ownership within the party fray. Every party is currently weakened by the monopoly and arbitrariness of the leadership. The leaders who fought for democracy yesterday are now emerging as challenges to internal and external democracy. This is the reason for the current struggle within the Congress.

There is an established tendency here to consider competition as a conspiracy and self-fulfillment as skill. Let's look at the Congress itself, the statute itself has made a provision that 40 percent of the general convention delegates can demand a special general convention and that a general convention must be held within three months. Although there is a statutory provision that a special general convention must be held if 40 percent of the general convention delegates demand it, it has been three months since 54 percent have submitted their signatures. However, those who want the old leadership and style in the party considered it their power to ignore the voice of the general convention delegates and the binding provisions of the statute. As a result, the Congress's large ranks have now adopted the path of organizing a special general convention and dismissing the establishment party's rule. 

Despite the obstacles and warnings of the Congress President and the entire establishment, the majority of Congress delegates have registered their presence at the special general convention. This has already addressed the question of the party's legitimacy. Now, we can be confident that this general convention will take a 'departure' in the policy reforms of the Congress, because the organizers have also done their homework for that. However, the serious question at present is whether this general convention will interfere with the leadership and if it does, whether the Congress will remain united or not. Yes, any party division is an unpleasant issue in a democracy.

This weakens not only the party itself, but also the institutional development of democracy. But the thread that saves party unity is the principle, method and status. If the method and statute are followed, the supreme institution of any party is the general convention. If the majority general convention delegates make a policy decision, but the president, who is not present at the general convention and is automatically in the minority, distributes tickets for the parliamentary elections, that will also be another mockery of democracy.

If such a situation arises, the votes of the general convention delegates will only be devalued. Moreover, it will be politically and morally challenging for any leader who participated in the special general convention to become a candidate in the parliamentary elections tomorrow with a ticket given by President Deuba himself.