Gagan Thapa, Bishwo Prakash Sharma expelled; Congress nears split

Kathmandu: The crisis in the Nepali Congress has reached a tipping point.

As disputes escalated, the party’s establishment faction on Wednesday expelled Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma from the party. A Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting the same day decided to suspend the duo for five years.

They have been charged with organising a special general convention, a move the establishment faction led by party President Sher Bahadur Deuba says violates statutory provisions. The Thapa–Sharma group moved ahead with the special convention from January 11, arguing that it reflected the demand of more than 50 percent of delegates from the party’s 2021 general convention.

Leaders from both sides made attempts to resolve the differences, including direct talks between the Thapa–Sharma duo and Deuba. However, Deuba’s refusal to step aside further complicated matters, pushing the standoff into a full-blown crisis.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Gagan–Bishwa group submitted a set of eight points for agreement. When those proposals failed to gain consensus, the party’s establishment moved to take disciplinary action against them.

With this move, the Nepali Congress now appears to be heading towards a formal split.

At the ongoing special general convention in Bhrikutimandap, candidacy has been registered with Thapa as the sole candidate for party president. The convention is set to elect a new working committee.

The legitimacy of the CWC’s decision to expel the Thapa–Sharma duo remains contested, as the special convention has already proposed dissolving the Deuba-led committee elected at the 2021 general convention.

The proposal, however, is yet to be formally endorsed.