Nepali Congress President Proposes 15th General Convention for Bhadra 2083
Kathmandu. Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa has proposed holding the party's 15th General Convention from Bhadra 24 to 26, 2083, at a Central Working Committee meeting. Thapa presented the schedule for the General Convention at the Central Working Committee meeting that began on Tuesday at the party's central office in Sanepa.
This is the third time the Congress has brought forward a schedule for the 15th General Convention. Previously, the ad-hoc Central Working Committee meeting on Mangsir 15 decided to hold the convention at the end of Poush, and the Working Executive Committee meeting on Poush 18 decided on a schedule for the end of Baisakh.
The Central Working Committee proposing the schedule now is different.
Following the 14th General Convention, a special General Convention was held from Poush 27 to 30 under the leadership of the then General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, with the majority participation of General Convention representatives, amidst disagreement from the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction (which won the presidency) and the Dr. Shekhar Koirala faction (which became the closest rival). That special General Convention elected Thapa as President and announced a new Central Committee, where Sharma is the Vice President.
The Election Commission has recognized this mandatory special General Convention as per the Congress statute, but the Deuba and Koirala factions have filed a writ petition against that decision in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has not yet issued a final verdict on that writ.
The Central Working Committee meeting on Mangsir 15, led by then Acting President Purnabahadur Khadka, decided to hold the General Convention on Poush 26, 27, and 28, with the objective of avoiding the special General Convention, setting a very short timeframe. The meeting had decided to hold the Ward Convention on Poush 16, the Municipality Convention on Poush 17, and the Provincial Assembly Regional Convention on Poush 19.
That committee had also decided that the District Convention would be held on Poush 22 in districts with a single House of Representatives constituency, and the District Convention on Poush 22 in districts with more than one constituency. The Congress decision was to hold the convention of the seven Provincial Working Committees on Poush 23 and 24. This schedule was brought not to hold the General Convention, but only to show an attempt to hold it.
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After it became certain that the General Convention would not take place on the announced dates according to that schedule, the Working Executive Committee meeting on Poush 18 postponed the date of the General Convention. That meeting decided to hold the 15th General Convention from Baisakh 28 to 31.
When the convention was not held in Poush, the then General Secretaries Thapa and Sharma supported the General Convention representatives who called for a special General Convention. Amidst disagreement from most office bearers and members of the Central Working Committee, including the President, the special General Convention was held from Poush 27 to 30 at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu. Since the Election Commission recognized that special General Convention, the ongoing meeting of the committee led by President Thapa has brought a new schedule to hold the convention in Bhadra.
The schedule proposed by President Thapa to the Central Committee mentions holding the 15th General Convention in Kathmandu from Bhadra 24 to 26, 2083. He has proposed a schedule to start the electoral process from the grassroots level for the selection of the party's new leadership.
The proposed schedule mentions starting a special campaign for the distribution and renewal of active membership from Chaitra 21. This process is to be concluded by the end of Ashar 2083, the list submitted to the Election Committee, and the convention will start simultaneously in all 6,743 wards across the country on Shrawan 6.
The proposal is to hold the Village/Municipality convention on Shrawan 12, the Provincial Assembly Regional Convention on Shrawan 23, and the House of Representatives Regional Convention and District Convention for districts with a single constituency on Shrawan 30. The District Convention is proposed for Shrawan 6 and 7, and the convention of all seven provinces on Bhadra 15 and 16.
When proposing this schedule, there was no consultation with the Deuba and Koirala factions, and since the leaders of the two factions are not in the Central Committee, holding the convention on the proposed date while accommodating everyone appears challenging.
On the very day the schedule was presented by President Thapa, Shyam Kumar Ghimire, a leader from the Deuba faction, stated that the regular General Convention should not be held before the verdict of the case pending in the Supreme Court.
Ghimire, who is also a former Member of Parliament of the Nepali Congress, asserted that the regular General Convention should be completed and moved forward after the court's decision, regardless of which faction receives authorization. He also stated that there is no alternative but for both factions of the Congress to move forward unitedly. Leader Ghimire also urged the Supreme Court to expedite the verdict on the case concerning the authorization of the Nepali Congress.
This specific news has been automatically translated by AI. As a result, there may be some inaccuracies or language errors.
