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   Thursday, 15 January 2026
Photo Courtesy: Nepali Congress/Facebook

SGC of the NC: Deuba should attend to avoid party's split

The Special General Convention (SGC) of the Nepali Congress (NC) underway in the capital has virtually cast a spell on all the Nepalis in general and the democrats in particular. It was reflected by the participation of myriads of people with incredible energy and enthusiasm in its inaugural programme held at Bhrikuti Mandap last Sunday. It has been organised following the constitutional provision of the NC, which provides that it should be held if more than 40 per cent of the members of the General Convention (GC) request in writing. At least 54 per cent of the members had submitted a memorandum with a request for holding the SGC three months back on October 15, led by NC leader Guru Raj Ghimire and his friends. It was supported by the General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Biswa Prakash Sharma, honouring clause 17.2 of the constitution, which has made it mandatory for the organisation of such a convention within three months of the submission of the aforementioned request.The Central Committee of the NC and the Work Execution Committee, the twin apex institutions, and chiefly Sher Bahadur Deuba, the president, had to hold the SGC according to the constitutional provision. But all three turned a deaf ear to it by hastily announcing a regular convention in early May. They also dismissed the SGC, citing it would lead to a split in the party, which could be disastrous in the face of the speedily approaching national election in early March. But the participation of near-to two-thirds of the members of the GC has shown how supporters of the SGC had taken the right stand as against its opponents who are hopelessly outdated and irrelevant.This is not the first time that such SGCs were held in the history of the NC. First, in 1957, a similar kind of convention was organised in which the then president, Subarna Shumsher, had paved the way for the presidentship of B P Koirala. He knew that the leadership of Koirala would bring about a landslide victory in the general election. Similarly, a SGC was held by Girija Prasad Koirala in the nineties, and despite being uninvited, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai showed incredible humility by participating in the convention, amidst jeering by a few partisan members, thereby evading the impending disintegration of the party.Again, a SGC was called by Deuba in 2002 after he was ousted from even ordinary membership of the party by Koirala. It ended in a rupture of the party by creating a new party, the Democratic Nepali Congress, after 40 per cent of the parliamentarians rallied behind Deuba.Opinions have been resonating in the political arena that Deuba should emulate Subarana Shumsher as well as his mentor Bhattarai instead of crying wolf about the party's split in view of the majority of the members of the GC already attending the SGC. But Deuba has remained adamant, refusing to enter into dialogue with the two general secretaries. If the division does take place in the party, Deuba will have the ignominious distinction of breaking the party successively on two occasions.The participants of the SGC are brimming with joy due to the majority of the members of the GC taking part in the Bhrikuti Mandap conclave, but they are also worried about the likely fissure in the party. The schism in the party can be evaded if the old guards, led by Deuba, realise their outdatedness. Though they were successful in bringing about democracy in the country, they were an utter failure in changing the economic condition of the country. The lack of employment in the country followed by the need to go abroad for jobs speaks volume about this harsh reality.Majority of the SGC members feel that the NC can be made stronger only if the veterans led by Deuba make a little change in their stand. The amendments are the projection of Gagan Thapa as the prime ministerial candidate in the same manner as Girija Prasad Koirala proposed Krishna Prasad Bhattarai as the prime minister in the 1999 election. Thapa alone can match or even surpass the likes of KP Oli and Balendra Shah.It should be followed by the propositions put forward by the twin general secretaries like the inclusion of some 40 youth among the parliamentarian candidates in the forthcoming election Secondly, proposals like only two terms for a person to be prime minister and only one for proportional representation should be immediately implemented.The NC can even obtain a victory if it goes to the polls with Gagan Thapa as the prime ministerial candidate just like in the 1999 general election when it secured a majority under Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. It is specially so when the alternative force has been weakened by the separation of Kulman Ghising and Rabi Lamicchane barely 12 days of their integration. They have been labelled as unstable and volatile political persona.Even if the party fragments, which should be avoided at all costs, the one led by Gagan can register a victory as Indira Gandhi did by sweeping aside the senior leaders Morarji Desai, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, and Nijalingappa in the sixties. Deuba and his mates may face a similar fate in the event of the party's disintegration.So, the need of the hour is for the senior leaders, including Deuba, to attend the closed session of the SGC participated by nearly two-thirds of the GC members as Bhattarai did in the SGC called by Koirala. They should project the young politicians as new leaders, with themselves, now mostly like expired drugs, remaining in the background. The latest developments have hinted towards it, but it remains to be seen whether it will really happen.
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