KATHMANDU: A rift has surfaced within the Nepali Congress (NC) over the party’s move to reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives.
The party began collecting lawmakers’ signatures on Sunday under the directive of party President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is currently in Singapore.
Chief Whip Shyam Ghimire initiated the signature campaign at Deuba’s instruction, as the party seeks to restore the parliament dissolved after the formation of the interim government led by Sushila Karki on September 12.
With this, both the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML have positioned themselves in favor of parliamentary reinstatement. However, NC General Secretary Gagan Thapa has publicly opposed the move, insisting that fresh elections scheduled for March 5, 2026, should proceed as planned.
“Only the election on Falgun 21(March 5) can bring a new parliament and restore the constitutional path. There should be no confusion about this,” Thapa wrote on social media Monday morning.
He further stated that the NC delegation clearly expressed this position during the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister, emphasizing that the party’s Central Working Committee has already endorsed it.
“The current confusion is related to the party convention, not the general election,” Thapa added, stressing that the party’s convention must be completed before the national vote.
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