Nepali Congress holds first CWC meeting
The newly formed Central Working Committee of the Nepali Congress on Thursday decided at its first meeting to move forward through overall reforms in the party organisation ahead of the March 5 general elections. The oldest and the largest party of the country, the Nepali Congress on Wednesday formally split as negotiations between the two factions, one led by general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma, and the other by party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, failed to reach an agreement over party reforms.
The Nepali Congress’ newly formed Central Working Committee (CWC) first meeting was chaired by 49-year-old Thapa, who was unanimously elected as the president of the party at a Special General Convention held here over the weekend. “The party’s CWC meeting has decided to move forward to take part in the upcoming general elections scheduled for March 5 through overall reforms in the party organisation and adopting measures for rectifying past mistakes and weaknesses,” party spokesperson Devraj Chailes told a media briefing.
The party has decided to form an election manifesto committee, chaired by party president Thapa, which would “draft a manifesto incorporating a concrete vision of nation building task along with plans, programmes and strategies keeping with the sentiment of the younger generation people,” he pointed out. Similarly, an election mobilisation committee headed by vice chairman Bishwo Prakash Sharma will be formed to mobilise party cadres in all the constituencies across the country during the general election, Chalise said.
Earlier, on the conclusion of the Special General Convention held in Kathmandu from January 11 to 14, the Gagan Thapa-led Nepali Congress announced a 167 member CWC, including 13 office-bearers and Dev Raj Chalise as the spokesperson, on Wednesday night. A total of 133 members and office bearers of the party have been elected during the Special General Convention while the remaining 33 members and a treasurer will be nominated by the party president later.
On Wednesday, a last minute call by Thapa and Sharma for Deuba to resign from the post of party president was rejected leading to the splitting of the party. Thapa and Sharma had argued that it was necessary to address the demands raised by the Gen Z youths and to revamp the party organisation before the election. The general elections in Nepal were necessitated after KP Sharma Oli resigned on September 9 following violent protests by the youth-led Gen Z group against his Government over corruption and a ban on social media. Sushila Karki, 73, became the interim prime minister on September 12 and on her recommendation, the President dissolved the House of Representatives and announced the election date, March 5.
