Deuba faction rejects Gagan Thapa-led NC leadership and plans separate convention

Kathmandu, September 14, 2026 — The internal dispute in the Nepali Congress (NC) has intensified after the faction led by former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba decided not to recognize the leadership formed by the party’s January Special General Convention.

A meeting of the Deuba faction held at Deuba’s residence in Chundevi on Monday decided not to accept the legitimacy of the leadership elected by the Special General Convention, according to leaders familiar with the meeting. The faction also decided not to recognize decisions taken by the Central Working Committee formed following the convention.

The faction is preparing to make its position public through a press conference later Monday.

The Special General Convention held in January elected Gagan Thapa as NC president. The Election Commission subsequently recognized the Thapa-led Central Working Committee, while the Deuba faction has continued to dispute the legitimacy of the convention and the leadership it produced.

The latest dispute has emerged after the Thapa-led establishment faction decided to allow all central members elected by the 14th General Convention to participate in the 15th General Convention in their existing capacity. The Deuba faction has objected to what it described as unilateral decisions taken without political consultation or consensus.

The Deuba faction has also decided to proceed with its earlier plan to organize the 15th General Convention separately. It plans to begin party conventions at different levels from October 1 and hold the main convention in Mangsir, roughly between mid-November and mid-December.

The faction has decided to complete preparations by giving full shape to the Election Committee, Disciplinary Committee and Active Membership Management Committee. Ek Raj Pokhrel has already been appointed coordinator of the Election Committee, according to the faction.

The parallel organizational activities are expected to continue while the dispute over the party’s official status remains before the Supreme Court. The Deuba faction has been challenging the Thapa-led structure and seeking recognition of its own organisational position. Recent reporting has confirmed that the rival faction has been preparing a separate convention schedule after the Supreme Court declined to halt the Thapa faction’s convention-related activities.