KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress has called its first central committee meeting after suffering a major defeat in the recent House of Representatives elections 2026.
The meeting of the party’s central working committee has been scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the party’s central office in Sanepa.
According to party sources, the meeting will hold a serious review of the electoral defeat, while party president Gagan Kumar Thapa is preparing to present the party’s future action plan.
The agenda of the meeting also includes discussion on revision of active party membership and the schedule for the party’s 15th general convention.
Questions have been raised within the party after the Congress secured only 37 seats in total, both proportional and first-past-the-post, with several senior leaders, including Thapa, facing defeat in the election.
A section within the party has intensified pressure on Thapa to step down from the leadership following the electoral setback.
However, another group led by vice-president Bishwo Prakash Sharma has argued that the party should move toward its regular general convention rather than pushing for resignations in the wake of the election defeat.
They argue that the leadership had to face the election within two months of assuming responsibility, leaving little time to consolidate the party, and that the focus should now be on rebuilding the organisation.
A party leader said the upcoming meeting could decide a roadmap and framework for holding the regular general convention.
Meanwhile, the faction close to former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba has been increasing pressure within the party amid the defeat.
Leader Min Bahadur Bishwakarma, aligned with the Deuba camp, has even remarked that the party currently appears to have two presidents. He also said the justification for a special general convention has ended after the election defeat and that the party should now move toward a regular convention.
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