A year before the scheduled 15th general convention of the Nepali Congress, leaders from the party’s dissident faction have started exerting pressure on the leadership to hold the event on time.

Shekhar Koirala, the Congress’s dissident faction leader, convened a gathering of chiefs of the party’s local units on December 3 in his hometown Biratnagar, demanding that the 15th general convention be held by mid-December next year.

Addressing the gathering, he urged all the participants to start a pressure campaign for a timely convention from each of the local units they lead. “The longer the period the general convention is deferred, the weaker the party will become,” he said.

On various occasions of late, Koirala has been consistently demanding that the party hold the convention as stipulated in the party statute.

However, several party leaders the Post talked to see no chance of the party holding its national gathering on time. Congress, often dubbed the country’s grand old party, held its 14th general convention in mid-December 2021, and should hold the next convention by mid-December 2025 as per the party statute. If the party is to hold its general convention a year later, it should have started the convention-related activities by now but it hasn’t, says a leader.

Krishna Paudel, the party office’s chief secretary, said Congress needs to resolve issues related to active party membership before starting the process of the convention.

Of the total 165 federal electoral constituencies, the issues of active party membership have been resolved only in the Kathmandu-4 constituency, according to party leaders.

“Apart from this, the Congress needs to amend its statute to address various challenges the party is facing in the changing context and for that, the party will soon form a statute amendment committee,” Paudel said. “Despite pressure from a section to hold the general convention by the end of next year, the party is unlikely to do so.”

The party statute gives each elected body a four-year tenure. However, the party charter provisions a one-year extension if the general convention cannot take place within four years. Further, Nepal’s constitution also envisions that political parties hold their conventions every five years. Article 269 (4) (b) of the constitution requires a political party to hold its general convention at least once every five years. In special circumstances, the constitution allows the event to be postponed for six months citing a valid reason.

Congress leadership went for maximum extension allowed by the statute before holding the last general convention. Fearing that President Sher Bahadur Deuba could repeat the same situation, the Koirala-led faction plans to compel the party establishment to adhere to the party charter’s four-year gap between the two conventions as there is no crisis barring the party from holding the event.

During the Mahasamiti meeting held in February, Gagan Thapa, a general secretary of the party, presented his organisational paper and proposed concluding the conventions of lower party committees by the end of November (last month). Under the plan, conventions of the ward units should have been held by the end of November, and conventions of village and city committees should have been held by the middle of this month.

Thapa at the Mahasamiti meeting had proposed concluding the party’s all district conventions by mid-September 2025, provincial conventions by mid-November, and the general convention by mid-December 2025. The Congress chooses its leadership from the ward level to the centre through the conventions. The party conducts four tiers of direct elections. And general convention delegates are elected by and from among them.

The organisational paper presented by the general secretary was endorsed by the Mahasamiti meeting, provided that it could also be amended by the central committee meeting. The subsequent central committee meeting of the party held in August also passed the paper presented by Thapa.

Nevertheless, none of the party’s general convention-related activities have started in the lower units as per the schedule.

Mahalaxmi Upadhyaya, a joint general secretary of the Congress, says that despite the party statute mentioning holding the general convention within four years, party history suggests that it gets extended at least by one year in accordance with the party charter.

Several Congress leaders said that Deuba wouldn’t convene the general convention before taking charge of the government as per his deal with the CPN-UML.

As per the Congress-UML agreement reached while forming the two-party government in July, Congress President Deuba will become prime minister after two years of signing the two-party deal.

Prime Minister and UML chair KP Sharma Oli upon his arrival from the China visit on December 5 said that he would hand over the government leadership to Deuba after 18 months. If Congress follows the party statute to hold the general convention, it should take place just after a year, but Deuba will get the reins of government only 18 months later.

Citing that, many Congress leaders said that Deuba will not hold the party's general convention without first taking charge of the government.

“Since Deuba already has announced he won’t be in the race for the party's top position, becoming prime minister after relinquishing the post of party president might be difficult,” said a party leader.

He may feel that his prospect of becoming prime minister as per the understanding with the UML might be in risk once a new leader elected from the convention heads the party, the leaders said.

In the last general convention held in 2021 when Deuba and Koirala were contesting for the post of party president after the first round remained indecisive, Deuba while seeking the vote in the runoff had requested votes from the delegates saying his position of prime minister may not continue should he not remain the party chief.

So Deuba will try to take the government reins before conducting the party convention, leaders say.

Upadhyaya, however, differs.

“The convention may not take place next year because no substantive preparation has yet begun,” she said, “not because his premiership will be challenged for not being the party chief.”