KATHMANDU: Tripartite talks held Tuesday morning to resolve the ongoing dispute within the Nepali Congress (NC) ended without any conclusion.
The talks, involving General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, took place as the second day of the special general convention moved forward with the election process.
Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Dr. Shekhar Koirala, and leaders supporting the special general convention met at Baluwatar in an attempt to reach a consensus. The central committee meeting called by the party’s establishment faction was also postponed from 11 am to 1 pm because of the talks.
During the talks at Baluwatar, the General Secretaries Sharma and Thapa had already proceeded with the election process at the convention venue in Bhrikuti Mandap.
Efforts to reach an agreement at the leadership level continue, while the closing session of the special general convention remains extended.
The special general convention faction has demanded that the party’s establishment faction cede ownership of the convention, that the reports presented at the convention be recognized as long-term assets of the party, and that party president Sher Bahadur Deuba resign. If Deuba refuses to resign, he must formally announce his withdrawal from active politics. If that is not possible, as a final option, he should refrain from signing off on ticket distribution in the upcoming elections.
A senior leader from the special general convention faction said that if consensus is not reached on these conditions, the party will initiate an election process to select new leadership, and an election committee has already been formed for this purpose.
The ongoing convention at Bhrikuti Mandap has prioritized leadership change and organizational restructuring, and failure to reach an agreement between the establishment and special convention factions could push the Congress toward a potential split.
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