The Nepali Congress, one of Nepal's largest and oldest political parties, is heading toward an unprecedented organisational showdown, with its two dominant factions preparing to stage rival 15th general conventions in the capital. According to Khabarhub, the establishment faction led by party president Gagan Kumar Thapa is set to open its convention in Kathmandu on Ashoj 16, while the faction aligned with former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba has scheduled its own general convention for Mangsir 21-23. What began as an internal disagreement over the party's leadership and election timetable has hardened into a fully parallel set of preparations, reaching from district committees in at least six districts all the way to the Supreme Court, where a petition has been filed seeking that the convention dispute be referred to a constitutional bench.
Deuba camp moves to formalise its own convention
The faction aligned with Sher Bahadur Deuba has moved fastest on the procedural front. Coordinated by Dr. Shashank Koirala, the camp has formed convention preparation committees, completed the handover of active membership details of 783,836 members to the party's central election committee, and fixed candidate nomination fees, including Rs 30,000 for anyone seeking the party president's post. Taken together, the steps indicate that the faction intends to run a full-fledged leadership election rather than a symbolic gathering, with its convention scheduled for Mangsir 21-23.
Key steps taken by the Deuba faction
- Formed convention preparation committees to manage arrangements for the Mangsir 21-23 event
- Handed over active membership details of 783,836 members to the central election committee
- Set candidate nomination fees, with Rs 30,000 fixed for the party president post
Deuba, a former party president who remains one of the most influential figures in Nepali politics, is also keeping up a busy public schedule. RatoPati reports that Deuba is scheduled to address a gathering of Congress leaders and other parties, an appearance that underscores his continued visibility even as the question of who controls the party machinery remains unresolved.
Thapa's establishment faction readies a Tundikhel inauguration
The establishment side has been equally busy on its own track. It has formed 15 committees to oversee its convention, including a main organising committee under Thapa himself, and has decided to inaugurate the event at Tundikhel, the sprawling open ground in central Kathmandu that has historically hosted the country's largest political rallies, as reported by Gorkhapatra Online. The choice of venue points to the faction's ambition to stage a visible show of strength in the heart of the capital on Ashoj 16.
Key arrangements by the establishment side
- 15 committees formed, including a main organising committee under party president Gagan Kumar Thapa
- Inauguration venue fixed at Tundikhel in Kathmandu
- Opening date set for Ashoj 16
With both a sitting party president chairing the main organising committee and a prime location secured for the inauguration, the establishment faction is presenting its convention as the definitive party event, even as the Deuba camp builds a competing process on the party's membership rolls.
Dispute spreads to districts and the Supreme Court
The confrontation is not confined to Kathmandu. Factional disputes over convention preparations have surfaced across the country, with districts including the following now caught up in the standoff:
- Tanahun
- Kailali
- Gulmi
- Udayapur
- Dang
- Bajhang
At the national level, the row has reached the judiciary. A petition has been filed at the Supreme Court asking that the dispute over the general convention be referred to a constitutional bench, raising the prospect that the courts could be asked to arbitrate which, if either, faction's convention carries the party's official stamp. For a party that has historically prided itself on its democratic internal culture, the prospect of its supreme organisational question being settled in a courtroom marks a striking escalation.
A party at a crossroads
A general convention is the Nepali Congress's highest decision-making forum, the gathering that elects the party president and other office bearers and sets the party's political direction. The rival calendars now on the table, Ashoj 16 for the establishment faction and Mangsir 21-23 for the Deuba camp, mean the party could pass through the convention season with two separate leadership contests, two sets of results and competing claims to legitimacy.
The two factions' preparations also point to different strategies. The Deuba side's handover of details for 783,836 active members and its nomination fee of Rs 30,000 for the presidency signal an election built on the party's membership rolls, while the establishment faction's 15 committees and Tundikhel inauguration signal a mass mobilisation push designed to demonstrate organisational dominance.
For now, both camps are proceeding on the assumption that their own convention will define the party's next chapter. With district-level disputes multiplying in Tanahun, Kailali, Gulmi, Udayapur, Dang and Bajhang, and a petition pending before the Supreme Court, the weeks from Ashoj through Mangsir are set to determine whether Nepal's grand old party resolves its leadership question inside a single convention hall, or in front of the country's highest court.
