The internal dispute within the Nepali Congress has escalated further after then acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka made a public statement on Sunday stating that there had been no contact with Congress president Gagan Thapa for 31 days, putting the establishment and other parties' efforts for unity in jeopardy.

Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma said he was 'surprised' by Khadka's view. He informed that a 7-point proposal was sent to Khadka on 16 Jestha from his mobile for party unity. The 7-point proposal was prepared while sitting with President Thapa. According to Sharma, after no response was received for a week, he went to Khadka's residence in Gulfutar on 22 Jestha in consultation with Thapa. During that time, Vice President Sharma said that the conversation lasted for two and a half hours. In the meantime, Sharma left after discussing the 7 points sent on 'WhatsApp' and some additional issues raised by Khadka.

Khadka said that the seven points prepared for consensus could not be revealed right now. However, it included issues ranging from the number of participants in the central working committee, the general convention preparation committee, the issue of updating active membership to investigations, elections, disciplinary committees, and the participation of fraternal organizations. The meeting on 22 Jestha was concluded with further discussions between Khadka and Sharma in their respective groups and then reconvened two days later.

Sharma had discussed the meeting with President Thapa on 24 Jestha. Khadka had also spoken to the leaders of his group. According to sources, some close leaders had also informed former President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was in Singapore, about it.

Khadka's last meeting with President Thapa was on 22 Baisakh. Vice President Sharma was with him in that meeting. Khadka said that he had not been in contact with Thapa since that day. Thapa had also met another leader Shekhar Koirala on the same day as he met Khadka. Sharma said that the latest initiative he took in favor of party unity was also being done on Thapa's advice.

Thapa met Khadka and started the unity initiative after the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission's decision to recognize the special general convention on April 4. On April 6, Thapa met Khadka for the first time after the special general convention. After that, Khadka and Koirala's group nominated 19 people as central members and discussed various models for the management of leaders. Establishment leaders say that the atmosphere of unity has further deteriorated due to Khadka's public statements.

Khadka has said that there has been no sincere effort for unity by saying, 'Today is the 31st day since there has been no contact or dialogue of any kind' with President Thapa through social media. ‘Despite the sincere efforts for the unity of the party for two months, there has been no significant progress so far,’ he said. ‘I am worried about the rumors and developments that have been circulating about the party in the past few days that are different from the truth.’

However, Sharma said that he was surprised by Khadka’s response and said that they would continue their efforts for unity. ‘They (Khadka’s side) did not take the initiative for unity. They did not come to Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash’s houses, we ourselves are going to talk and sending proposals,’ he said. ‘Suddenly, such a response has surprised me.’

Shyam Ghimire, a central member close to Khadka, said that many things had been agreed upon in the meeting held on 22 Baisakh and that suspicions had arisen since President Thapa, who had come out the next day to reach an agreement, did not come after that. ‘The chairman is positive to resolve everything during the talks, but after going out, we feel that he has distanced himself,’ he said, ‘this has increased our suspicions.’

Khadka has also opposed the pressure being put on districts for active updates. He comments that this trend is very dangerous for the life of the party. On the other hand, Khadka’s statement that all those who have not renewed but have renewed and acquired new memberships by 10 Poush will be ensured to participate in the general convention has also irritated the establishment side.

‘It is our responsibility to ensure that everyone can automatically participate in the general convention – rest assured,’ Khadka had written on social media on Sunday. After Khadka’s statement, the cadres are further confused about whether they will be able to participate in the general convention if they do not renew. General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire says that members who do not renew will not be able to participate in the general convention process. ‘There is no doubt about it, those who have not updated will not be able to participate in the general convention process,’ said Ghimire.

The Congress is scheduled to start the ward convention on 2 Bhadra and conclude the 15th central general convention on 16-19 Asoj. Since the lower-level voters will be active members, the dispute related to this should be resolved before the start of the ward convention. The central working committee led by Gagan Thapa, which came out of the special general convention held on 27-30, has started a new update campaign for active membership from 1 Baisakh. Its deadline is 28 Jestha. Khadka and Koirala have been taking the stance that ‘update’ should not be mandatory for the general convention, while the establishment side has been saying that ‘update’ is mandatory to participate in the general convention.

This dispute over membership is aimed at the fairness of the upcoming 15th general convention. According to the leader of the other party, Prakash Sharan Mahat, the only thing sought for internal unity is the assurance of a fair general convention. The issue of members is the main one. ‘Among other issues, the main issue is to form a general convention organizing committee with the participation of both parties, and to form a disciplinary committee, active membership investigation committee, and election committee with the participation of both parties,’ he said. ‘If the leadership does not agree to this, the party is in a situation where it is likely to suffer further damage.’

After the establishment party was not ready for the other party’s demand to form a separate organizing committee, the other party has raised the issue of integrating all the central members who were in the then 14th general convention. The 109 then central members who were elected and nominated in the 14th general convention and who were in the former president Deuba’s side are not in the current central working committee. The other party has insisted that all of them should be integrated.