High-stakes talks in Nepali Congress today - english.makalukhabar.com

KATHMANDU: Amid escalating internal disputes within the Nepali Congress and mounting pressure from the faction demanding a “special general convention,” party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma are set to hold decisive talks today. In an effort to bridge the widening rift within the party and find a way forward, Deuba has invited the two general secretaries for discussions at his private residence on Wednesday morning. As internal equations within the party continued to deteriorate, leaders including publicity department chief Min Bishwakarma met Deuba on Monday and urged him to initiate direct dialogue with the general secretaries. Although Deuba initially expressed doubts, saying he feared the general secretaries were upset with him and might refuse to attend, he eventually agreed to the talks following repeated appeals from party leaders. With the establishment faction showing some flexibility, the general secretaries also responded positively to the proposal. Deuba stepped in personally after talks between the establishment side and the special convention faction at Bhrikutimandap failed to yield any outcome on Tuesday. The special convention camp has put forward a hardline stance, demanding either Deuba’s resignation or a public commitment that he will neither contest the next general election nor remain politically active. Representing the special convention faction in Tuesday’s talks were Pradip Paudel, Devaraj Chalise, Madhu Acharya, and Gururaj Ghimire. From the establishment side, Ramesh Lekhak and Balkrishna Khand participated, while leaders from the Shekhar Koirala group—Badri Pandey, Jeevan Pariyar, and Minendra Rijal—attempted to mediate. However, the discussions collapsed after both sides failed to agree on the leadership transition issue. Owing to the ongoing power struggle among the top leadership, the Central Working Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday was postponed multiple times and has now been rescheduled for Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the special convention faction has extended its nomination deadline at Bhrikutimandap, choosing to wait for the outcome of today’s talks.