Kathmandu, December 18

Factionalism-riddled Nepali Congress postponed the meeting of its central working committee yet again as talks between warring factions got stuck over the number of office bearers in Nepal Student’s Union, the party’s student’s wing.

Camps led by senior Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Paudel and Krishna Prasad Sitaula have united to boycott the central working committee meet raising four issues — devising a calendar for the 14th national convention, increasing the number of party departments from 28 to 41, constitution of the Nepal Students Union and extension of tenure of Tarun Dal’s central working committee.

The two sides — the other being the establishment faction led by Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba — have already agreed on issues related to the national convention calendar, party departments, extension of tenure of Tarun Dal’s office bearers and leadership of the NSU. Only the number of office bearers in the NSU remains to be resolved.

Therefore, today’s central working committee meet was postponed until Friday as the talks needed some more time, said NC Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma. “Since both the sides have agreed to move ahead on the basis of consensus, forging consensus is taking time,” he said.

Meanwhile, both the factions today held separate meetings to devise further strategy. While Paudel and Sitaula camps assembled at Paudel’s residence at Boharatar, the Deuba camp assembled at Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha.

Party insiders say since agreement has already been forged on major contentious issues, the present stalemate was a result of the two sides playing political one-upmanship at the expense of the party.

Insiders say Deuba dropped the idea of moving ahead on the basis of majority and decided to forge consensus to ensure that the issues raised by the Paudel camp were finished once and for all and the Paudel faction was rendered issueless.

On the other hand, the Paudel camp wants keep some issues unresolved to use them as bargaining tool in the future. “This attitude is only going to weaken the party,” the leader said.