The other party has not yet decided whether to just prepare for a parallel convention or split the party. However, the office will be named the '15th Convention Preparation Liaison Office'.
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The establishment faction of the Nepali Congress has established a liaison office in Chundevi to start parallel preparations for the 15th General Convention. While the party establishment faction is making preparations to hold the central general convention from 16-19 Asoj, the leaders of the dissatisfied other factions are starting preparations for the parallel general convention by opening a separate liaison office.
Leader Bimalendra Nidhi said that since the work of painting a house for the liaison office is underway, it will take two to three days to start the work from there. He also said that the office will be named '15th General Convention Preparation Liaison Office'.
The other factions have not yet decided whether to prepare for the parallel general convention or split the party. Nidhi said that they are in favor of party unity but the establishment faction has not shown seriousness.
The other party has already sent a written proposal to the establishment party with various demands through the then acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka, who led the former president Sher Bahadur Deuba faction. Among them, the issue of 'merging' the Central Working Committee elected from the 14th General Convention and the Central Working Committee of the Special General Convention has become the main complication. Khadka has demanded that all of them be integrated as 114 people from the then Central Working Committee are not currently in the Central Working Committee.
Then there is the issue of forming an election, membership investigation, discipline and statute amendment committee with the participation of both parties. There is no particular problem regarding the common representation of both parties.
'We want these demands to be met and unity should be achieved soon. Let the 15th be made a unity general convention.' They (the establishment) also want the 15th general convention, we also want it, the important thing is active membership,' said Nidhi, 'The issue is that only the members who renewed when Gagan Thapa was the general secretary should be able to participate in the general convention. Another main issue is the merger of the central working committee elected from the 14th general convention and the special general convention.'
This has also become the biggest dispute between both sides.
Gururaj Ghimire, the general secretary of the establishment party, says that the then Deuba-led working committee cannot be adjusted to the current structure. According to him, according to the statute passed by the special general convention, the president has the right to nominate 61 central members. He said that since 19 of them have already been nominated, there is a possibility that other parties can be included in some of the remaining 42 positions. In addition, the establishment is ready to give Shekhar Koirala and Purna Bahadur Khadka the responsibility of senior leaders.
In search of this agreement, Ghimire had discussed with Purna Bahadur Khadka and Krishna Prasad Sitaula on Monday. Before that, he also had a long conversation with Shekhar Koirala in Biratnagar.
According to Ghimire, Shekhar Koirala has put forward an alternative proposal that if it is not possible to include everyone in the Central Working Committee, a separate political mechanism can be formed to prepare for the general convention.
‘If it is an obstacle to bringing 111 people to the Central Working Committee, a mechanism to prepare for the general convention and an election, membership investigation and disciplinary committee can be formed in a way that represents both sides,’ Ghimire said. ‘Purna Bahadur Dai says that there will be an agreement only after everyone is accommodated. The statute makes it difficult to accommodate everyone. But discussions can be held on the issue of forming a political mechanism.'
However, while parallel preparations are underway, there is no consensus within the other party on how to move forward. Leader Kishore Singh Rathore, who contested the election in Falgun last year with Gagan Thapa's support but is now in the Deuba group, made it clear at the Lumbini province meeting on Monday that he is not in favor of party division under any circumstances. He said that he is not in favor of leaving the four-star flag and tree symbol and will update the membership. He also said that some leaders have played a double role. 'Those who have the will to start a new party can do so, but I will not leave the Congress. I will not leave the four-star flag and tree symbol of the Congress. We struggled within the party yesterday too, and we will do the same today too,' he said.
Some leaders have seen Rathore's statement as a sign that the idea of finding a solution through struggle within the party rather than division is becoming stronger within the other party. Shyam Ghimire, a leader of the other party, also admits that the long-term indecision has increased confusion among the cadres. According to him, the other party now has only three options left - to split the party, to participate in the 15th general convention without any preconditions, or to take a break from politics.
'There is no other option other than these three options. But the cadres are very confused about what to do due to the long period of indecision. This has increased the problem,' he said, 'Both Purna Bahadur Khadka and Shekhar Koirala are not in the mood to split the party. That is why other leaders have not dared to do so either. But whatever is to be done, it is a matter of deciding quickly.'
