Nepal Congress convenes Central Working Committee meeting to postpone conventions to local level

The Nepalese Congress has decided to postpone conventions at local, district and provincial levels due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A meeting of incumbents and former members of the party office and some members of the Central Working Committee decided on Sunday to convene a meeting of the CWC on Tuesday to approve new dates for general conventions from ward to provincial levels.

The main opposition, however, remains undecided on whether to postpone the party’s 14th General Convention, scheduled for February 19-22, 2021.

Senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel told the Post he believes the General Convention will be held as planned.

“Although the party has decided to postpone the conventions at the local level, we still believe that the General Convention will take place on the scheduled date,” Poudel told the Post.

He said conventions at local level had to be postponed as the party could not make preparations due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown.

“The distribution of active members has stopped, so our conventions starting at the parish level have been affected. Due to Covid-19, our preparations locally have been delayed by almost two and a half months, so we have to reschedule them,” Poudel said.

The postponed dates for conventions at the local level will be presented to the Central Working Committee on Tuesday.

According to the new schedule, the distribution of active members will begin from mid-July to mid-August.

During this period, the party also plans to complete the formation of all interim party structures, said another senior party official, Ram Sharan Mahat.

“Local party conventions at ward, village and township levels will start from mid-October while the district-level convention will end on December 31,” Mahat told the Post.

Asked about the possibility of rescheduling the General Convention centrally, Mahat said it depended on how the Covid-19 situation develops.

Bishow Prakash Sharma, the spokesman for the Nepali Congress, however, said there is a possibility that the 14th General Convention could be postponed to May/June next year if the Covid-19 crisis escalates.

There are several presidential candidates for the party, including incumbent President Sher Bahadur Deuba, General Secretary Shashank Koirala and top leaders Ram Chandra Poudel, Ram Sharan Mahat and Shekhar Koirala.

Party leader Arjun Narsingh KC said party leaders do not believe the General Convention could be held in time, so the party has to postpone.

If the General Convention is postponed, Deuba will benefit the most, say some party leaders.
“It is too early to say whether the General Convention will be postponed, but if it materializes, it will surely be President Deuba who will benefit,” said youth leader Ramhari Khatiwada.