Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has said he is ready to forgo his candidacy for any position if party leaders agree to hold the party’s general convention on schedule.
Speaking at the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting that resumed on Tuesday, Thapa proposed holding the party’s regular convention in December-January. He also stated that he would accept the condition barring both general secretaries from contesting in the same convention if that helps move the process forward.
“If you say the two general secretaries cannot contest this time and that helps us take the party toward the convention, we are ready for that,” Thapa told fellow leaders. “Let’s make that a commitment to untie the knot.”
Thapa proposed holding the 15th general convention from Dec 31 to Jan 3, stressing that if it cannot be organized by then, the only alternative would be a special convention. “If we cannot complete it in Poush under any circumstance, then there’s no other option but a special convention,” he said, noting that the party’s statute mandates it.
Thapa argued that the Nepali Congress should not head into elections without holding its convention, as it provides a platform to connect with the public and elect new leadership. “We must go to the people with renewed legitimacy. The general convention is our bridge to the voters,” he said.
Thapa also admitted that the party, which once led political movements, is now facing protests from within. “We are being cornered in the streets by our own people. If we fail to answer the questions of our cadres and supporters now, the voters will deliver their verdict during the elections,” he warned.
Thapa questioned whether the public and party committees were still waiting for the Congress to act. “Are people eagerly waiting to vote for us? Are our committees just sitting idle?” he asked, adding that voters would not wait indefinitely for Congress to resolve its internal disputes.
He dismissed claims that the recent GenZ movement was entirely sponsored, saying such interpretations were unfair.
Meanwhile, Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka said efforts were underway to resolve all differences through consensus. “We are trying to create an environment where all agendas can be concluded through agreement,” he said, adding that informal meetings would continue in that regard.
However, the party remains divided over whether to hold the convention before or after the upcoming elections. The establishment faction, represented by Joint General Secretary Mahendra Yadav, has proposed holding the regular convention between 8-11 May 2026, while Thapa’s camp is for holding the convention in December.
The CWC meeting, which had been repeatedly postponed over disputes regarding the convention date, resumed at the party’s central office in Sanepa on Tuesday.
Dissenting leaders have already submitted signatures from 54 percent of convention representatives demanding a special convention if a regular one is not held before the vote.
At a separate gathering in Thapagaun, dissident leader Jagadishwar Narsingh KC accused the party’s central office in Sanepa of becoming “powerless” and claimed the party was being directed from Singapore, where party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, are currently undergoing treatment. “The party is being run from Singapore. Sanepa is helpless,” KC said, alleging that Deuba would return before the elections to distribute tickets in his favor.
