The issue of the general convention has become increasingly uncertain as the party's founding members have not shown any interest in holding any kind of convention before the election. If the central working committee decides by majority vote not to attend both the regular and special general conventions, the question has arisen as to what will happen to the petition registered with the signatures of 54 percent of the general convention delegates on 29 Asoj.

Acting President of the Nepali Congress, Purna Bahadur Khadka, has informed the Central Working Committee that an application for a special general convention has been registered. However, the issue of a special general convention has not yet been made an agenda for the meeting.  

Article 17 (2) of the party statute provides that a special general convention must be called within three months if a demand is made by 40 percent of the general convention delegates, but there is no clear provision regarding its process. How long will the special general convention be for? Will it only elect the leadership or elect the Central Working Committee? If only the leadership is to be removed, it is not clear whether it will be removed through a no-confidence motion or through elections. 

Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa has said that if the Central Working Committee does not decide on a regular general convention, a special general convention as demanded will be the only option. He presented the schedule for 16-19 Pus in the Central Working Committee meeting on Tuesday. Thapa says that if a decision is not taken in this agenda, a special general convention should be held and the central working committee should take a decision for that.

Central member Madhu Acharya says that if a decision is not taken in the meeting, a special general convention can be called by the signatories themselves. According to him, the statute has mentioned two provisions for a special general convention.

Article 17 (2) of the statute provides that a special general convention can be called if the central working committee itself deems it necessary. In the same article, there is a provision in the statute that if the central working committee does not deem it necessary, but a demand is made with the signatures of 40 percent of the general convention representatives, a special general convention must be called within three months. 

‘Rather than getting distracted by other issues in the meeting, the agenda for the regular general convention should have been passed in Mangsir/Push. Otherwise, the Central Working Committee itself should have called a special general convention,' says Acharya, 'If the Central Working Committee does not take any decision, the main agenda for the general convention representatives is the special general convention. The signatories decide on the procedure and agenda and decide when and on what date to hold it.' 

Leader Gururaj Ghimire says that since the demand for a special general convention has been made, the Central Working Committee has no room to escape without making a decision. 'The Central Working Committee has no right to sit without making any decision. Either a decision should be made for a regular general convention as per the agenda presented by the General Secretary, or the process of a special general convention should be taken forward,' he said.

With the aim of making General Secretary Thapa's proposal a failure, establishment-oriented leaders have presented a separate agenda for 27-29 Baisakh through Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav. There is a provision in the Congress statute for the agenda of the meeting to be presented by the General Secretary. But the leaders of the establishment party have been criticized for going beyond their jurisdiction and asking the joint general secretary to present the agenda. 

Although acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka called Yadav's proposal personal, six of the seven former office bearers of the establishment party (Gopalman Shrestha is undergoing treatment in India) are trying to defeat Thapa's proposal. Former general secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula is in a leading role in this. Saying that no kind of general convention is possible before the election, Sitaula accused the general secretaries of causing discord in the party. 

'No general convention is possible before the election. The party must face the National Assembly elections in Magh and the House of Representatives elections on 21 Falgun. This time is short in itself. At such a time, holding a regular or special general convention will spoil the election,' Sitaula said, 'There is no question of calling a special convention without taking an institutional decision by the central working committee.' 

The alliance of former office bearers Sitaula, Bimalendra Nidhi, Vijay Kumar Gachhadar, Gopalman Shrestha, Prakashman Singh, Shashank Koirala and Prakash Sharan Mahat had been going on since before the Gen-G movement. They had even proposed to Deuba, ‘We have been trying to make you the president till now, now make one of us the president.’ While increasing their activities after getting Deuba’s ‘green signal’, the Gen-G movement has also put these seven former office bearers on the defensive along with Deuba. 

‘The main stake of the seven former office bearers is that if the general convention is extended, they can accumulate power and come back to the leadership again,’ said a disgruntled leader from the establishment party.  A group within the establishment is in favor of holding a regular general convention before the elections. Speaking on Wednesday, some leaders of the establishment party argued that the party can be saved only by holding a general convention before the elections.

At the 14th general convention of the party, Formula Mansur, who was elected as joint general secretary from President Deuba's panel, proposed that the decision to make General Secretary Thapa the party president and prime minister should come from the central committee. He said that the signatures of 54 percent of the general convention delegates could not be ignored and suggested that a special general convention should be called to change the leadership and policy. 

Another central member of the establishment party, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, questioned why the Congress could not hold a general convention before the elections, saying that there could be turmoil in the country within 24 hours. Other central members Udaya Shumsher Jabra, Madan Lal Amatya and others said that holding a regular general convention before the elections would not increase disputes within the party. 

This has made the leaders in favor of a special general convention somewhat optimistic. 'In the central working committee, the members and leaders of the establishment party have talked about a general convention before the elections. All central members, including them, should accept the request of the signatory friend,' said leader Ghimire, 'There is still a series of speeches on Thursday and Friday. I believe that the central committee will decide to hold a regular general convention on the same agenda submitted by the general secretary.'

'Both regular and special general conventions cannot be held now'

Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Congress leader

Why are you afraid of going to the general convention?

As soon as the regular general convention is called, the seven-level convention should be held. The term of the central working committee has ended, I had said not to bring up the matter of a special general convention at this time, but to talk about a regular general convention.

A petition has already been submitted demanding a special general convention, isn't it mandatory to call it according to the statute?

The central working committee should decide whether to hold a special general convention or not. If it is necessary, what will be the process, it should be carried out accordingly. All the representatives had to be verified. The necessity and justification of its discussion have not even been made an agenda.

Special General Convention and Regular General Convention cannot be held at the same time: Krishna Prasad Sitaula [Interview]

Can we forcibly move forward after the provisions of the statute have been drawn?

How can we go to the National Assembly elections in Magh and the House of Representatives elections in Falgun by creating a ruckus in the special general convention? Holding a special general convention by abandoning all election-related agendas is trying to postpone the elections in a roundabout way. 

Since you are not in favor of holding any general convention, why do you want to go towards party division?

The general secretaries have launched a campaign for the special general convention. Otherwise, this situation would not have happened. What is the point of going to the same campaign as the general secretaries? We cannot agree that we will bring down the party by insulting and threatening it.

Are you trying to bring back the president you left behind by giving him an acting president?

Our main point is why you are afraid to bring up the election agenda. They said that we should go for elections outside but did not bring a proposal to the meeting. 

Earlier, you were the one who was working on the issue of restoring the parliament, right?

No, the decision is unconstitutional, right? How can the formation of a government from outside the parliament and the dissolution of the parliament be called constitutional? I said that by imagining the incident of 24 Bhadra. 

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'If it cannot be regularized, there is no alternative to a special general convention'

Gururaj Ghimire, Congress leader

The establishment party is not in favor of any kind of general convention. In such a situation, what will be the situation of a special general convention as you have demanded?

A lot depends on what the decision and conclusion of the Central Working Committee are. The working style and decisions adopted by the Central Working Committee will determine it. We want a general convention within the four-year time limit—whether regular or special. 

However, it has also been made clear from the ‘counter’ proposal of Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav in the Central Working Committee that the founding party is not in favor of any convention. How will you move forward now?

Looking at the things presented by the founding party and the proposals that have come, they cannot be seen as in favor of any. The proposal of the Joint General Secretary in the Central Working Committee is a proposal that has been brought outside the jurisdiction against the statute and established norms. I had a phone conversation with Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka this morning about it. He has already said that the proposal of the Joint General Secretary is a personal proposal. If the proposal of the General Secretary is passed, there is no need to call a special general convention. However, if the proposal is not passed, there is a legal provision that a special general convention must be called. 

If the majority does not move forward with the process of a special general convention, what other option do you have?

Looking at the current state of mind, it does not seem that this is what will be done. Most of the speakers speaking in the meeting are moving in the direction of holding a general convention before the elections. We are hopeful that the general convention will be held within the time limit. If it is not regular, then it will be special. There is no alternative to this.

If the Central Working Committee does not move in the direction of moving the process forward, will you call a meeting yourself?

The Central Working Committee cannot sit without making a decision. The special general convention is legal and binding. It cannot be held after the election, it cannot be postponed. If that happens, we are also discussing that option. There may be a situation where the signatories themselves call it. However, we have not thought about that right now.