As Gagan Thapa’s legally recognized leadership gathers over 7,700 delegates at Khula Manch, a rival December convention planned by Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction and a pending Supreme Court review keep the party divided
KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress opens its 15th General Convention at Khula Manch in Kathmandu this afternoon. It is the party’s first regular national convention since December 2021. Gagan Thapa heads the party after a January special general convention, convened by over 54 percent of party delegates, replaced Sher Bahadur Deuba’s leadership.
The Election Commission officially recognized Thapa’s committee on January 16, and the Supreme Court upheld that recognition on April 17, though the court agreed in August to review its decision.
While the Thapa-led establishment is conducting the regular convention to fulfill statutory requirements, Deuba’s camp continues to boycott the process and has called a rival gathering for December 7 to 9. Delegates at the Khula Manch convention will vote for new central office-bearers on October 7 and 8.
This explainer will guide you through the key issues, candidate slates, statutory reforms, and legal disputes shaping the convention.
What is happening in Kathmandu today, and what is the schedule?
The Nepali Congress is starting its 15th General Convention, the regular national gathering where delegates elect the party’s top leadership and approve its policy direction. The opening ceremony is at 2 pm at Khula Manch on Tundikhel. Closed-door sessions follow on October 5 and 6.
Candidates file nominations from 2 pm on October 5, and voting takes place on October 7 and 8. More than 7,700 delegates are expected. Party spokesperson Devraj Chalise calls it the largest in the party’s history.
The main stage has been set up at Khula Manch on Tundikhel for the inauguration of the Nepali Congress 15th General Convention, which opens on Sunday.
Voting will be on paper ballots at three venues: Tundikhel, the Rastriya Sabha Griha and the Nepal Academy in Kamaladi. Party leaders said electronic machines could not deliver results within a day or two for so many delegates. President Gagan Thapa is expected to table the political and policy document. Other office-bearers will present organisational reports.
How is this different from the special general convention in January?
The special convention met in Kathmandu from January 11 to 14 after representatives who made up more than half of the party’s delegates signed a demand for it. 54 percent of representatives attended, while only about 30 members of Deuba’s central committee took part. The gathering elected Gagan Thapa president and formed a new central working committee.
Under the party statute, a committee elected at a special convention is interim. It must hold a regular convention within a year to keep its mandate, which is why the party is meeting now. The party argues that this convention is broader because delegates came through ward and constituency conventions, and many leaders who skipped January have returned.
Gagan Thapa (right) and Bishwo Prakash Sharma at the NC special general convention. File photo: Nepal Photo Library.
The Deuba camp rejects this general convention. It says the committee elected in 2021 remains legitimate and that Deuba can still convene the 15th convention.
What does the Nepali Congress statute say?
Several provisions matter this week. Clause 17 allows a special general convention if at least 40 percent of elected convention representatives sign a request. The Election Commission relied on that rule in January when it recognised Thapa’s leadership. The Thapa side reads the statute to mean that a committee elected at a special convention is interim, and that a regular convention held within a year secures its legitimacy. That puts the outer deadline in mid-December.
The Deuba side disputes the special convention itself. A president must win a majority of valid votes, and a second round is held if nobody crosses that line. The statute amended in January also changed who can be a delegate. A leader now needs a ward recommendation and a constituency election, instead of automatic entry as a central committee member.
It reserves at least 21 central committee seats for people under 35 and sets quotas for experts, workers, diaspora, persons with disabilities and minorities.
How did the party reach this crisis?
The argument over when to hold the regular convention ran for months before the Gen Z protests of September 2025. Last October, Deuba handed the acting presidency to Purna Bahadur Khadka. A group led by the then general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma gathered signatures for a special convention, and a request backed by 54.58 percent of delegates reached party headquarters. Deuba’s side opposed it, arguing that the regular convention timetable was already moving.
Leaders at the special general convention of the Nepali Congress. File photo: Nepal Photo Library
The special convention went ahead in January. Hours before it elected Thapa, Deuba’s committee suspended Thapa, Sharma and Farmullah Mansoor. The Election Commission recognised the new leadership on January 16, and the Supreme Court upheld that recognition on April 17.
In August the court agreed to review its own ruling. Since then the party has operated as two camps, each running its own process and each claiming the statute.
How badly did the Nepali Congress do in the March 5 election?
It was a heavy defeat by the party’s own standards. The Congress won 38 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives and finished second. The Rastriya Swatantra Party won 182. In 2022 the Congress had 89 seats, 57 directly elected and 32 through proportional representation, and was the largest party.
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