Nepali Congress special convention tests party leadership, unity

Nepal’s oldest political party, the Nepali Congress, on Sunday began a two-day special general convention in Kathmandu, deepening an internal power struggle and a direct challenge to the party’s entrenched leadership. The special general convention was announced by general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma without endorsement from the party establishment, triggering sharp resistance from party president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction.

General secretaries pitch the gathering as an effort to reform and revitalise the party. However, the move has also intensified fears of a possible party split.

The Congress has been mired in turbulence since the September Gen Z-led protests, which triggered renewed calls for leadership change and organisational overhaul. Since then, Thapa has repeatedly argued that contesting elections under the same leadership and organisational structure would amount to political self-sabotage.

The party establishment led by President Deuba has strongly opposed the special convention, despite earlier commitments to hand over leadership after the party’s 15th General Convention.

Deuba stayed away from the gathering, warning that it could fracture the party. Instead, he has pushed for the regular general convention scheduled for May. Leaders close to Deuba argue that the party’s immediate focus should be on the parliamentary elections due in March and that the special convention should be deferred.

Thapa and Sharma, however, remain firm that leadership change is necessary before the upcoming elections. It remains unclear whether the special convention will be able to elect a new leadership.

Organisers say the convention is primarily aimed at proposing policy and organisational reforms while preserving party unity even as uncertainty looms over its political outcome.

Thapa and Sharma maintain that the convention was demanded by 2,488 elected representatives, around 54.5 percent of the total general convention delegates. Leaders backing the initiative claim that more than 60 per cent of the elected delegates are participating in the event.

The Congress statute mandates that the party leadership must convene a special general convention if at least 40 per cent of elected general convention representatives demand it. In mid-October, a petition bearing the signatures of 54.5 per cent of delegates was submitted to the party headquarters seeking a special convention and the election of new leadership.

The establishment faction, however rejected the move arguing that since preparations for the regular general convention are already underway, the rationale for a special convention does not hold.

The four-year terms of all elected bodies of the Nepali Congress ended in mid-December.

Following the Gen Z protests, Thapa has also been openly critical of the Congress’s electoral alliance with the CPN-UML for the National Assembly elections, alleging that the decision was driven by the personal interests of party leaders rather than broader political strategy.

According to the party constitution, a special general convention must be convened within three months of the registration of such a petition, setting January 11 as the deadline.

As divisions between the rival factions continue to widen, political analysts warn that party unity is increasingly under strain at a time when elections are fast approaching.