NC 15th General Convention commencing today

Kathmandu, Oct 4: Preparations for the 15th General Convention of the Nepali Congress have been over. The General Convention is kicking off at the local Khulamanch (open theatre) in Tundikhel in a while.

The following two days will be spent for closed sessions under the Convention, while elections slated for October 7-8. The event originally scheduled for October 2 was put off by two days following continuous rainfall across the country.

Representatives from home and outside the country continue to arrive in Kathmandu to participate in the event. Fifteen different preparations committees have been formed to facilitate the General Convention.

A grand stage is ready at an inauguration venue, Khulamanch. According to NC spokesperson Devraj Chalise, separate mega halls have also been set up at Khulamanch to run the closed sessions. 

The venue also features a media centre and a primary health care unit. 

The Accommodation Management Committee has designated a coordinator for each electoral constituency, district, and province to manage lodging arrangements for the General Convention participants from those respective areas.

Accommodation facilities have been managed in the Tribhuvan International Airport area, Gaushala, Sundhara, Thamel, Lazimpat, Kalanki and New Bus Park. Information about it has been circulated to participants via WhatsApp messages, AI numbers and SMS. 

According to the committee, breakfast, lunch and dinner have been available at Bhrikutimandap area. The General Convention central election commission informed RSS that around 7,500 representatives are attending the event. This is the first time in the party that such a largest number of representatives have been elected for the General Convention. 

Both the inaugural and closed sessions are scheduled to be held in Khulamanch. 

The party president, vice-president, general secretary and treasurer will present separate reports in the national gathering.   

Three separate panels will be formed on the basis of geographical cluster to discuss such reports. Each participant in the hall will have access to report via a digital board, according to spokesperson Chalise. Three halls named Himal, Pahad, and the Terai-Madhesh are fixed for organising the closed sessions.  

Leaders from various political parties are invited to the inaugural session. The invitees are Rastriya Swatantra Party's president Rabi Lamichhane, CPN (UML) chairman KP Sharma Oli, CPN (Maoist Centre) coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Rastriya Prajatantra Party chairman Rajendra Lingden, Janata Samajbadi Party chairman Upendra Yadav, Janamat Party chairman Chandra Kanta Raut, Shram Sanskriti Party general secretary Aaren Rai, and acting general secretary of Rastriya Janamorcha, Ghanshyam Paudel.

Socialist International's general coordinator Chantal Kambiwa is among international guests invited to the inaugural session. She has been in Kathmandu to attend the event.