The Nepali Congress has submitted the name and signature of President Sher Bahadur Deuba to the Election Commission while registering the party for the National Assembly elections to be held on 11th Magh and the House of Representatives elections to be held on 11th Falgun. Even though Deuba had given a message on 18th Asoj that he would be retiring from active politics by appointing Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka as the acting president, the Nepali Congress has submitted the application for party registration with him as the president.

The decision to participate in the elections and register the party for election purposes was made at the central working committee meeting on Saturday. The decision of the same meeting, the application for party registration along with the name, surname, position and signature of the president, has been submitted to the Election Commission by Krishna Poudel, the chief secretary of the party central office. By putting forward his name while registering the party, Deuba has conveyed the message that he will be active in distributing tickets for the upcoming elections.

Since Khadka took over as acting president, the Congress has been embroiled in a controversy over whether to hold the general convention election ahead of time or later. Meanwhile, questions have also started to arise about the decision-making ability of acting president Khadka. After returning from treatment in Singapore, Deuba had started consulting with party leaders. The suspicion that an attempt was made to push the party convention forward has been strengthened by the fact that President Deuba's name was mentioned in the application for party registration, according to other parties.

Leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula has refuted the accusation that they did not allow the general convention to be held before the election to make President Deuba active. He said that since the application for party registration was submitted based on the decision of the central working committee, acting president Khadka and general secretary Gagan Thapa would be informed about it rather than him. He also informed that the decision regarding party registration was made after a proposal from the general secretary and there was no dispute over it.

Sitaula says that President Deuba's active participation in ticket distribution and other election activities is natural. 'The list of candidates for the proportional representation of the House of Representatives should be submitted on 13 Poush. Criteria should be made for that. Letters should be sent to each district. Recommendations should be sought from below. Even if an acting president is given, there is no question of not being active in these activities,' he says, 'Due to his ill health, the working committee meeting is being held under the chairmanship of the acting president.'

Meanwhile, a proposal to hold a general convention on 21-23 Poush was discussed through Deuba to convince the leaders in favor of a special general convention, including General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma. Along with this, a condition was also put forward to withdraw the petition registered at the central office on 29 Asoj demanding a special general convention with the signatures of 54 percent of the delegates. The 'condition' has been rejected by the supporters of a special general convention, including General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma, saying that the intention is not to hold a general convention before the election. ‘We need a general convention, not a schedule,’ Thapa had said immediately after Saturday’s meeting, ‘If we hold a regular general convention within the mid-term, the request for a special general convention will automatically be invalid.’

After the Gen-G movement, the process of the party’s leadership passing to the second generation had begun, but the party has returned to its old position by sending the name of the president to the Election Commission. What will be the situation of the Congress if it contests the election on a ticket signed by President Deuba? : Gururaj Ghimire Leader in favor of a special general convention, Gururaj Ghimire, said that the issue of a special general convention is still unsolved and strong. ‘After the Gen-G movement, the process of the party’s leadership passing to the second generation had begun, but the party has returned to its old position by sending the name of the president to the Election Commission. Now, the issue of a special general convention has become even stronger ahead of the election,’ he said, ‘There is no situation in which it can go to the election without changing the leadership and policy from the special general convention.’ If we do not change the leadership now, we will have to contest the election on a ticket signed by President Sher Bahadur Deuba. What will be the condition of the Congress at that time? He also informed that the special general convention support group will hold a program to make public its views on the issue of Deuba's name being submitted to the Election Commission.

Establishment leader Shyam Ghimire, who was the chief whip of the Congress parliamentary party in the dissolved House of Representatives, gave a message in the meeting on 28 Asoj that he would not return to active politics and said that President Deuba's activity would not be beneficial for him when the vice-president has already been given an acting position. 'Trying to make the president active in the daily activities of the party is not beneficial for him and will not do the party any good,' he said, 'For the benefit of the party and the country, he should be placed in the position of a guardian.' That is in the best interest.'