KATHMANDU, Dec 31: Hundreds of cadres of Nepal’s largest political party, Nepali Congress, have taken to social media with the #OccupySanepa campaign after the leadership failed to hold the scheduled 15th General Convention, which was supposed to begin from Wednesday.
The angered cadres were further infuriated after party President Sher Bahadur Deuba told some journalists close to him that a Special General Convention was not possible under the current circumstances.
Following this, leaders loyal to the rival faction led by General Secretary duo Gagan Thapa and Biswoprakash Sharma are preparing to gather at the party office in Sanepa to exert pressure on the establishment faction. They hope to push the leadership to hold a Special General Convention.
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Earlier, acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka, on behalf of Deuba, had presented a schedule in the party’s Central Working Committee to hold ward-level conventions from December 31, complete all six levels of convention, and hold the central convention from January 10 to 12. However, the process did not progress as planned.
Although the convention should have started Wednesday, the party has not even appointed election officers to formally start the process. Moreover, active membership renewals and new distributions have not been completed, and disputes over active membership exist across the country.
Immediately after the Gen Z protests on September 8–9, around 54 per cent of convention representatives submitted signatures to acting president Khadka requesting a special convention. Party rules mandate that if 40 per cent of representatives demand a special convention, it must be held within three months of submission. Accordingly, the signatories have been urging the leadership to set a date and venue by January 12.
In line with this, Thapa and Sharma are reportedly set to issue a formal call to summon the special convention, according to leaders close to the general secretaries.
Former NC lawmaker Ajay Babu Siwakoti said the call is inevitable as the leadership continues to ignore formal requests from party cadres. “This party, which has been fighting for democracy in the country for the last 80 years, will face a revolt if it cannot uphold the same principle within the party,” Siwakoti said. He added that the party leadership has put the identity of the NC on the verge of collapse.
Mostly second-tier leaders and those from the rival faction have also called for a national gathering of all general convention members. “We hope such a gathering will be a turning point to hold the special general convention,” said NC youth leader Shanker Tiwari.
Another leader, Guru Raj Ghimire, who led the signature campaign, said the leadership cannot ignore the signatures of its members and must take the matter to a logical conclusion.
