The role of the Congress in national politics and issues has weakened as the party has been embroiled in a controversy for a month and a half over whether to hold the general convention election before or after.
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The Congress Central Working Committee meeting has been embroiled in a dispute for three weeks over whether to hold the party general convention before or after the House of Representatives elections. Leaders including Shekhar Koirala, General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma are in favor of holding the 15th general convention in December. But the establishment party does not seem ready for that.
Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka has expressed a positive view in informal talks about holding the general convention immediately, but has not opened up in a formal meeting. The other party has been alleging that seven former office bearers of the establishment party are behind this.
Former office bearers Gopalman Shrestha, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Bimalendra Nidhi, Shashank Koirala, Vijay Kumar Gachhadar, Prakashman Singh and Prakasharan Mahat are trying to postpone the general convention. Shrestha has been in India for a week for treatment. The other six former office bearers are standing still and increasing pressure within the party to go to the general convention only after the House of Representatives elections. Mahat is also the party spokesperson. All the others are central members.
The seven former office bearers had formed an alliance before the Gen-G movement to take over the leadership from the 15th general convention. They had been pressuring President Deuba to support one of the seven for leadership. After the Gen-G movement, when UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal were trying to remain in the leadership, Deuba had given the responsibility of acting president to Vice President Khadka on 10 October. Deuba is currently in Singapore for treatment.
Although Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka seems positive about holding the general convention immediately, he has not been able to take a formal decision due to pressure from the seven former office bearers Acting President Khadka himself also aspires to become the president from the upcoming general convention. For that, the challenge is to move the Deuba team forward in an organized manner. Therefore, he is unable to move forward without the consent of the seven former office bearers. ‘Khadka is under siege by the former office bearers because he aspires to become the president by organizing the Deuba team and on its strength,’ said a Congress leader.
After a clash with acting president Khadka over the agenda, General Secretary Thapa boycotted Thursday's central working committee meeting. After failing to reach an agreement, Thapa reached the party office in Sanepa on Friday with the plan to present a unilateral agenda. Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav of the establishment party was preparing to present a 'counter' agenda to it. The meeting was postponed on Friday and Saturday to reach an agreement, saying that this could lead to a split in the party.
The central working committee meeting was also postponed on Sunday and a working committee meeting was held throughout the day. Since both sides could not reach an agreement, a working committee meeting has been called again at 9 am on Wednesday. The central working committee meeting is said to be held on Tuesday.
There is also a question of whether the democratic character can be maintained within the Congress through smooth management of generational transfer or whether the party itself will be divided due to internal power struggles. The main reason for the power struggle is whether to hold the party's 15th general convention before the elections on 21 Falgun, or whether to call a special general convention instead of the regular general convention.
Thapa and Sharma, who have previously proposed a schedule for holding the general convention by mid-Mansir, proposed on Saturday that the general convention be held on 16-19 Poush. Leader Shekhar Koirala, who is in the middle, is also active in getting the leaders of the establishment to agree to hold the regular general convention on the date proposed by the general secretaries. He also consulted with party president Deuba, who is in Singapore, on Saturday.
Former office bearer Bimalendra Nidhi says that the party should now focus on the elections to the House of Representatives instead of the general convention. He says that holding the general convention before the elections because the general secretaries are in a hurry to take the leadership will be counterproductive and cannot be supported. 'Our only concern is that the elections should not be affected. For that, the general convention should be held after the elections. If the leadership should be changed before the general convention, Sher Bahadurji has already left. The main agenda of the Congress at present should be elections,' he says.
If the agenda for the 15th general convention is presented by the general secretary in Poush, another agenda will be presented by the establishment side to hold the general convention in Baisakh, said leader Nidhi. 'The agenda without consensus is the general secretary's personal, not the party's. If it is presented individually, we will also present it. They have not accepted the suggestion that we discuss both proposals in the central working committee and accept whatever decision is made legally.'
Leaders of other parties say that if the general convention cannot be held in Mangsir-Push, it will not be held in Baisakh either. 'Now, it has been said that we should hold the general convention in Baisakh by showing the Falgun elections. If the election is not held in Falgun and is postponed to Baisakh, then the general convention will be postponed again and postponed until Mangshir,' said leader Gururaj Ghimire.
The central leaders have already registered a petition with the party central office for a special general convention with the signatures of 54 percent of the general convention delegates. This has the support of general secretaries Thapa and Sharma.
The statute provides that a special general convention must be called within three months if a demand is made with the signatures of 40 percent of the delegates. Since the petition demanding a special general convention was registered on 29 Asoj, if a regular general convention is not held by 28 Poush, a special general convention will have to be called. 'Only if a regular general convention is called before then can the need for a special general convention be eliminated, otherwise this is a forced situation,' says leader Ghimire, who led the signature campaign for a special general convention.
Leaders from other parties argue that the people's trust cannot be regained with the current policies and leadership. "If we fail to change the leadership and policy now, Sher Bahadur Deuba will be the party president when the elections are held, and if things remain the same, Deuba will start being active in ticket distribution," said a leader.
The establishment side is raising questions, saying that the general secretaries are responsible for the inability to hold a regular general convention in Mangsir. The statute has entrusted the main responsibility of distributing and renewing active membership to the general secretaries. Membership distribution and renewal have not been done in the four years since the 14th general convention.
Nainsingh Mahar, a central member of the establishment side, says that since all the office bearers are responsible for the current situation, they should not compete for executive positions in the next general convention. "If possible, let's hold a regular general convention in Mangsir itself. But the office bearers were unable to do whatever preparations were needed for the regular general convention. The situation that has arisen today is that the demand for a special general convention has arisen because they were unable to do their work," he says. "Therefore, there should be a one-term 'cooling period' for all the current office bearers." If we can do this, there will be a radical change at the leadership level.'
General Secretary Sharma said that the 'bottom line' of the general convention will be from 16 to 19 Pus. 'There are discussions to hold the general convention in a way that it will be inaugurated on the occasion of National Reconciliation Day,' he said. 'This should be presented in the working committee meeting by making a common agenda.' He also said that one lakh new generation members can be given membership if the general convention is held immediately.
Analyst Hari Sharma says that if the Congress is to be saved, the General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma must stick to the issues that they have put forward. 'Otherwise, the Congress cannot be saved,' he says.
Another analyst Geja Sharma Wagle commented that the Congress is becoming a prisoner of indecision as the second generation, especially the seven former office bearers, try to push the general convention to accumulate power for their political future. He said that even Acting President Khadka has not been able to come out of the pressure of the seven former office bearers. ‘The struggle for leadership transfer including generational transfer is going on in the Congress, UML and Maoists. Two general secretaries in the Congress are fighting the last battle,’ he said, ‘It is inevitable to bid farewell to the second generation leaders who have been tested. Otherwise, the Congress will continue to lose its relevance in national politics.’
Another analyst Puranjan Acharya says that even though the seven former office bearers do not want to hold the current general convention for their political future, it is the generation including them that will save the Congress. ‘Their generation (the second generation represented by the Central Working Committee) who have fought tirelessly in the party is the main foundation for saving the Congress party,’ he says, ‘If Gagan and Bishwaprakash do not understand the essence of these loyal workers, it will be difficult for their slogan of change to succeed.’
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