After reaching a deal to split the Congress, President Sher Bahadur Deuba and the leaders supporting the special general convention have been engaged in decisive discussions since Monday night. After Deuba deployed his representatives, General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma presented the 'bottom line' at 10:30 pm.

The two general secretaries have also formed a four-member task force consisting of Pradeep Poudel, Madhu Acharya, Gururaj Ghimire and Devraj Chalise to negotiate with the establishment. Although task force member Poudel said that they will hold detailed talks at night 

but the decisive discussion will take place only on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Thapa and Sharma met with Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka and establishment party leaders Bal Krishna Khand and Ramesh Lekhak. They have put forward the first condition that the party should take ownership of the policies and decisions of the special general convention.

The two general secretaries have presented the 'bottom line' that the entire party should take ownership of the policies and programs passed by the special general convention, that Deuba should step aside from the active responsibilities of the party as he himself announced in the central working committee meeting on 29 Asoj, that the ticket submitted by the candidate to the Election Commission should be signed by Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka and that Deuba himself should also announce that he will not contest this year's election. 

They have also maintained their policy of not forming an alliance with any other party in the upcoming elections. ‘We will be open to the issue of leadership if there is a consensus on this,’ said Ghimire, the organizer of the special general convention. ‘If there is no consensus, the special general convention will complete its course.’

The issue of whether or not to take ownership of the special general convention for consensus has become complicated. Senior leader Shekhar Koirala had also met President Deuba with the same proposal. But the matter could not move forward after Deuba did not accept the main condition of taking ownership of the special general convention. Further discussions were taken forward on the same proposal by the two general secretaries. 

A middle-of-the-road proposal was prepared by the pro-general convention leaders Ghimire, Chalise, Acharya and the district presidents near Koirala who gathered in Kathmandu. It includes the same issues as the general secretaries. After Deuba rejected the proposal, leader Koirala returned from his residence in Maharajgunj. 

On Monday morning, after a discussion with about a dozen district presidents and leaders close to him, Koirala discussed various options with Deuba. ‘Even if it means drinking poison, I am making a last-ditch effort to maintain unity within the party,’ Koirala said, ‘I am talking to the party president, acting president and general secretaries that the party will not be split under any circumstances, the party will not split. No one should be disappointed.’

After the special general convention brought the procedure for dissolving the central working committee and moving forward with a new election process, Deuba, who was in a state of confusion, was busy with discussions throughout the day. He held a meeting of his party’s central committee and even discussed the possible outcome with legal professionals. 

 Leader Koirala, who was on his side in the past and is now under pressure from the delegates present at the special general convention hall, is also rushing to find a solution through some means. However, Deuba has set a 'bottom line' that he will not accept the special general convention under any circumstances. 

The first condition of General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma is that the special general convention should be taken ownership and its decisions should be implemented. But the establishment party is not in favor of accepting the special general convention. ‘Shekhar Doctor and the president are of the same opinion on the issue of not being able to take ownership of the special general convention,’ said party spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat. ‘When the Central Working Committee has twice declared the special general convention to be unjustified and illegal, no one agrees to take ownership of it. There may be a safe landing in terms of moving the party forward from the perspective of operation and ideology, but taking ownership of the special general convention cannot be a matter of taking ownership of it.’

Deuba had also held a meeting of the central members of his party at his residence and discussed it. Most of the members had stressed on taking the initiative for consensus. As per their suggestion, a central working committee meeting has been called for Tuesday.

However, the meeting was not about taking ownership of the special general convention but about informing about the decisions made by the central working committee earlier, said spokesperson Mahat. ‘The meeting was called after a demand was made to approve the decision of the central working committee by holding a formal meeting,’ he said.

In discussions with central members, Deuba had expressed confidence that General Secretary Thapa and Sharma would not have split the party if international forces had not been involved. "There is a suspicion that the international power center is trying to divide the Congress. If not, this party will not be divided. I am ready for any other decision," a central member said, quoting him. "I will not be the president anymore, the party should be one. I have already said that I will leave the regular general convention. Whatever happens, will happen through the general convention."

Since then, the pressure to change not only the policy but also the leadership has been increasing in the special general convention hall. The number of general convention delegates has also increased. According to campaign committee coordinator Subash Pokharel, around 63 percent of the general convention delegates have come.

Their names have been placed in three files with signatures in three places on the basis of citizenship or national identity card. "The file has been fixed now so that the question of legitimacy can be raised after a new election," said a leader in favor of the special general convention. 

The special general convention has already passed the procedure for the new election. The procedure for dissolving the current Central Working Committee and electing a new Central Working Committee has been passed by the Special General Convention Hall.

‘Since the term of office of the Central Working Committee elected from the 14th General Convention of the Congress 2078 BS has expired, the Central Working Committee will be dissolved and a new Central Working Committee will be elected until the 15th General Convention is completed,’ the procedure passed by the General Convention Hall states. 

‘If the President himself steps down, there will be a situation, but the Special General Convention Hall will not go back to that, it will move forward with new leadership and policies and programs,’ said Central Member Pradeep Poudel. 

In the political and organizational proposal presented by General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma in the closed session this morning, they have brought a policy to close the door for Party President Deuba to become the leader of the parliamentary party and even become the Prime Minister in the upcoming House of Representatives. 

In the backdrop of Deuba's home district Dadeldhura recommending a single name for his last election, the policy proposal presented by General Secretary Thapa and Sharma at the special general convention on Monday will be passed only on Tuesday. As group discussions on the report are ongoing, the course of the election will move forward only after it is passed on Tuesday, Ghimire said. 'If there is an agreement, it can take another turn, if not, it will complete its course,' he said. 

After the Gen-G movement, General Secretary Thapa and Sharma had been continuously urging Deuba for a respectful retirement. In the central working committee meeting on 28 Asoj, Deuba had given the responsibility of Vice President Khadka as the acting president with a message of separation from active politics. After that, when Deuba, who had gone to Singapore for treatment, returned and increased 'active intervention', General Secretary Thapa and Sharma took the risk of the special general convention to find a replacement for him.

"Bottom line" of the special general convention

– The policies and programs passed by the special general convention should be owned by the entire party;