Kathmandu, June 26: The communication deadlock between the establishment and dissident factions of the Nepali Congress has finally been broken. On Friday, General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire, representing the establishment camp, formally initiated talks with dissident leader Shekhar Koirala by meeting him at his residence in Biratnagar.
Ghimire said he resumed formal discussions with Koirala after returning from a personal visit to India.
“I had also met him before leaving for India, and today’s meeting after my return has moved in a positive direction,” Ghimire said.
Both Ghimire and Koirala hail from Biratnagar. Ghimire was elected General Secretary during the party’s 14th General Convention. However, as preparations for the 15th General Convention gather pace, serious disagreements have emerged between the establishment and dissident groups, particularly over the leadership’s decision to require membership updates, which has deepened tensions within the party.
Following his meeting with Koirala, Ghimire said he would also hold discussions with leaders from the faction led by former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba.
“I have already spoken by telephone with Purna Bahadur Khadka and Krishna Prasad Sitaula. I will meet them as soon as I return to Kathmandu,” he said.
The resumption of dialogue between the General Secretary and the dissident camp is seen as ending the communication breakdown that had persisted since Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). Ghimire believes the process of reconciling the two sides has now begun.
“I have informed the party president through the vice-president that I have started talks with the dissident group,” he said.
There had been no formal dialogue between the two factions since party president Gagan Thapa met Deuba faction leader Khadka on Baisakh 6. Likewise, Thapa and Koirala last met on Baisakh 22, after which there had been neither meetings nor formal discussions. Koirala had repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with Thapa, accusing him of failing to engage the dissident faction in dialogue and instead sidelining their concerns.
According to Ghimire, the party had decided about two weeks ago to begin negotiations with the dissident camp. The decision was made during a meeting involving President Thapa, Vice-President Bishwa Prakash Sharma, and General Secretaries Ghimire and Pradeep Paudel. As part of that effort, Ghimire had already met Koirala once before departing for India.
Ghimire said Friday’s discussion focused on the five-point proposal put forward by Koirala and the seven-point proposal presented by the establishment.
“I presented the seven-point proposal and listened to his views. He told me that after submitting his five-point proposal, he had not been able to meet the party president,” Ghimire said.
The establishment had publicly released its seven-point proposal on Jestha 31 (mid-June). Discussions also focused on how to accommodate the dissident faction’s views and move together toward the 15th General Convention.
Two additional proposals raised by Koirala were also discussed. One concerns integrating committees elected during the 14th General Convention with those elected through the Special General Convention.
“His proposal is either to integrate both committees or not integrate either of them,” Ghimire explained.
Koirala and the Deuba faction had boycotted last year’s Special General Convention held in Poush. Koirala became dissatisfied after President Thapa appointed members to the Central Working Committee contrary to his proposal. Thapa nominated 18 leaders from the Deuba camp and 11 from Koirala’s faction.
“The proposal now is either to appoint everyone or appoint no one. This will be discussed with the leadership,” Ghimire said.
Another proposal from Koirala called for proportional representation of all factions in the party’s Discipline Committee, Election Committee, Active Membership Committee, and Investigation Committee. Ghimire said the issue was also discussed during Friday’s meeting.
“We discussed ensuring representation for all groups in these committees to make the convention process more credible. This is not a difficult issue,” he said.
According to Ghimire, the issue of membership updating was not discussed during the meeting. Koirala remains opposed to the establishment’s position on mandatory membership updates. On this issue, both the Deuba and Koirala factions share a common stance, arguing that the 15th General Convention should proceed based on the membership list from the 14th General Convention and that updating membership should not be made a compulsory condition.
Ghimire, however, expressed confidence that the membership update process is gradually gaining wider acceptance.
“Almost all party members have completed the update. Only the senior leaders remain. Since this is a constitutional requirement of the party, it cannot be ignored,” he said. “There is still time to complete the process. Those who fail to do so will miss participation in the 15th General Convention.”
He added that once agreement is reached on broader issues, differences over membership updates are also expected to be resolved.
The Koirala faction has not yet issued any public statement regarding the talks. Koirala has been staying in Biratnagar since Jestha 31 and is expected to consult his supporters after returning to Kathmandu.
The Deuba-Koirala alliance held a Koshi Province-level gathering in Biratnagar on Jestha 31.
The Nepali Congress held its Special General Convention on Poush 27. The committee elected by that convention is preparing to hold the 15th General Convention in Ashoj (September-October).
As part of those preparations, the party began distributing new memberships, renewing existing memberships, and updating membership records from Jestha 2. The original deadline of Jestha 21 was extended several times—to Jestha 28, then Asar 7, and most recently to Asar 20—after the updating process remained incomplete.
Amid continuing disputes over active membership, the party leadership reminded the dissident faction on Asar 10 to complete the membership updating process.
The Special General Convention introduced a significant amendment to the party statute by adding a special provision to Article 4(14). The amendment authorizes the Central Working Committee, on a one-time basis, to require all party members to reapply for active membership, allowing membership records to be updated and new NC ID cards to be issued after verification. The provision is expected to have a long-term impact on the party’s organizational structure and internal balance of power.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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