As the regular general convention will not be held from December 26 to 28 as per the schedule set by the Nepali Congress central office, General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma will call a special general convention on the same date.

Since the establishment party is not in favor of any general convention before the 21st Falgun election, the general secretaries Thapa and Sharma are going to call a special general convention. Article 17(2) of the party statute provides that ‘if the Central Working Committee deems it necessary or if forty percent of the members of the central general convention make a written request to the center stating special reasons to call a meeting of the central general convention, a special central general convention shall be called within three months of the application’.

54 percent of the general convention representatives have registered a petition with their signatures at the central office, Sanepa, on Asoj 28 demanding a special general convention. Leader in favor of a special general convention, Subash Pokharel, informed that the general secretaries will call a special general convention on that date since there will be no regular general convention on Poush 26-28.

‘Both general secretaries call a special general convention. This is not a rebellion. It is the responsibility of the general secretaries to implement the provisions of the statute and force it to be done. The general secretaries are also the heads of the central office, Pokharel said, “It is the duty of the general secretaries to call it after the central working committee shows reluctance to call it.”

Even if the general secretaries call it, the establishment party says that it will be just a gathering. “All the cadres have already gone to the field during the election. The general secretaries may also be calling it to discuss the election issue,” said Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav, “I was not aware of the special general convention.”  

Those demanding the special general convention have already invited their representatives to the capital on 26-28. Pokharel said that the general secretaries will also make a formal call in a day or two. The special general convention called in this way will last for three days.

“Only a regular general convention can neutralize the demand for a special general convention, but since it is not regular, it is a mandatory provision of the statute to call a special one,” he said. Before that, the Central Working Committee meeting on November 15 had brought a schedule for all seven levels of the party to make the special one inactive by holding regular general conventions. According to which, the schedule was to hold conventions for villages, towns, and wards on December 16, rural municipalities on December 17, provincial assembly regions on December 19, the House of Representatives regions on December 21, and districts with only one district. Similarly, the schedule was to hold conventions for districts with two or more regions on December 22, provinces on December 23 and 24, and central general conventions on December 26-28.

However, the work of distributing, renewing, and investigating active memberships, who are the initial voters of the convention, has not been completed. After the delay in active membership, General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma had proposed that the central convention should be held directly after holding conventions for the wards and regions. They argue that they were forced to call a special general convention after the establishment party was not ready to go along with the General Secretary's latest proposal.

General Secretary Thapa said that since there is a binding provision in the statute to call a special general convention by December 28, it cannot be postponed due to anyone's will or unwillingness. "The Congress is looking for a point of confidence to play its national role with a sense of responsibility. This confidence comes from our unity. And what does unity come from? That unity emerges not from prohibition, not by ignoring different ideas, but only by using a common platform to express different opinions." In a message of congratulations on the occasion of National Reconciliation Day, General Secretary Thapa said, "That is what the special convention of the Congress is today. The act of holding a special convention within the month of Poush is not only legally binding but has become mandatory for unity and confidence within the party."

Congress leader Shekhar Koirala, however, says that the Central Working Committee itself should call a special general convention. He said that he is not in that direction as a gathering called from outside the Central Working Committee will increase the risk of party division. "Instead, everyone will have ownership only when the Central Working Committee decides and calls a special general convention. Apart from that, I do not agree with gatherings called by the General Secretary or general convention representatives," he said.