The controversy over whether to hold the Congress general convention before or after the February 21 House of Representatives elections has flared up again. Even as the regular general convention scheduled by the party approaches, the establishment side has proposed postponing the general convention as the dispute over active membership remains unresolved.

The other side is in favor of calling a special general convention if not a regular general convention immediately.

Pressure on the Congress to hold a general convention increased after the Gen-G movement. After a long dispute over whether to hold a special or regular general convention and when to set the date, the Congress had set the general convention for 26-29 Pus. But the active membership, who are the initial voters for the selection of general convention representatives, has not yet been finalized. Although the establishment party has proposed to postpone the general convention after the House of Representatives elections citing this as the reason, General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma are in favor of holding the central general convention on the same date.

In the Central Work Performance Committee meeting that has been going on since Wednesday, General Secretary Thapa proposed to hold the central general convention directly after holding ward and constituency elections. The ward convention selects regional representatives and the regional representatives elect general convention representatives from the regional convention of the House of Representatives, paving the way for holding a central general convention. Supporting Thapa's proposal, another general secretary Sharma has also expressed the view that a central general convention should be held on a specified date after the two-tier convention. They say that if the general convention is not held on the specified date, a special general convention will be attracted.

General Secretary Thapa has complained that party leaders are not cooperating in holding the general convention as per the specified schedule. He mentioned that the distribution of active membership forms has been stopped intentionally in some districts. 'I am working myself to ensure that the forms are not stopped, but looking at the situation, I see that active membership is being stopped with the intention of not holding the general convention,' he said, 'Now, without getting confused, we should hold a ward, region and central general convention directly.' Thapa says that if this is not ready, the option of calling a special general convention is still alive.

Discussions are underway at the party's Central Working Committee meeting on the agenda to amend the general convention schedule. Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the party general convention should be held after the election as preparations for the election need to be made. 'If the election is held in Falgun, it would be appropriate to hold the general convention in Falgun,' he said.

Leaders in favor of a special general convention, however, argue that the party will suffer a great loss if the party's policy and leadership are not changed before the election. They have also warned that they will not be candidates under the signature of the current leadership.

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I see active membership being suspended with the intention of not holding a general convention, without confusion, a ward, regional and central general convention should be held, otherwise the option of calling a special general convention is alive

– Gagan Thapa, General Secretary

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The party should advance preparations for the elections, if the elections are held in Falgun, then it will be in Baishakh, if the elections are moved to Baishakh, it will be appropriate to hold the general convention in Falgun

– Prakash Sharan Mahat, Spokesperson

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A petition for a special general convention was registered at the party central office on 29 Asoj with the signatures of 54 percent of the general convention representatives. There is a provision in the statute to call a special general convention within three months if 40 percent of the representatives demand it with their signatures. Therefore, according to the petition, a special general convention should be held by 28 Poush.

Leader Gururaj Ghimire, who is in favor of a special general convention, says that if the central general convention is not held directly after the ward and House of Representatives constituencies, a special general convention should be called. 'Due to the delay in finalizing the active membership, it is no longer possible to hold a central convention after holding all levels of conventions as per the previous schedule.' Now the issue of holding a regular general convention has become complicated for the party. In the past, we have demanded a special general convention, suspecting that they did not want to hold a general convention,' he says, 'However, we also started to wonder whether there would be a regular general convention.' But the central working committee confused the party and the general leaders/workers.' He said that they are now waiting for the decision of the central working committee.

Another leader Subash Pokharel said that if there is no general convention before the election, he will not become a candidate with the signature of the current leadership. He said that a central general convention can still be held after holding only two levels of conventions. ‘Due to the pressure of time, there is no other option but to hold a two-level convention and hold a central convention or a special general convention,’ he said. ‘While other parties have already held their general conventions and entered the elections, the Congress has been wasting time for three months deciding whether to hold a general convention or not.’

General Secretary Sharma will not contest the elections

Congress General Secretary Bishwaprakash Sharma has announced that he will not contest the upcoming elections. In a meeting of the Congress Central Working Committee on Thursday, he announced that he will not contest this time as he has been a candidate three times in a row.

Sharma told the meeting that he had returned to Kathmandu from the district after proposing to nominate another friend in his place. ‘I will be a candidate to the best of my ability. It doesn’t matter if I win, I will not leave the constituency even if I lose. Even if I lose in one constituency, I must become a candidate in another constituency or at one level, I must remain a candidate. I will keep the idea of ​​‘capturing’ the constituency as long as I live. "A minister should remain as long as he can breathe. It is necessary to break this trend in our politics," he said in the meeting.