KATHMANDU: Signs have emerged that the dispute over updating active membership within the Nepali Congress is taking a new turn. As leaders aligned with former President Sher Bahadur Deuba and leader Shekhar Koirala—who did not participate in the Special General Convention—have continuously shown reluctance to join the update process, the establishment faction has signaled that it will no longer wait for them.

The establishment faction, led by President Gagan Thapa, has been maintaining that it is attempting to move forward by including the groups that boycotted the Special General Convention. However, after the top leaders of the Deuba-Koirala faction themselves failed to participate in the membership update, the establishment side appears minded to move ahead according to the party statute without granting any further extensions.

The Membership Management Central Committee meeting held on June 14, had set a deadline of June 21, for updates in Bara and Khotang. Prior to that, a deadline up to the night of June 11, 2026, was set, but a new date was fixed as the work could not be completed. Krishna Dulal, the Acting Chief Secretary of Congress, states that the membership update for those districts is almost complete.

The deadline for the overseas Public Relations Committees has been set for June 24, and for certain members of a “special nature,” it is extended until July 4. The term “special nature” members was used to target those leaders who did not participate in the Special General Convention. However, even as the extended deadlines are lapsing, the Deuba-Koirala faction does not seem enthusiastic about the update process. Major leaders from both factions have not updated their memberships.

There are 782,000 active members in the Congress. Among them, 687,000 have updated their status so far, according to Prakash Rasaili Snehi, a member of the Membership Management Committee and Joint General Secretary. However, with around 100,000 members failing to join the update process, discussions are ongoing within the party regarding what to do with them.

“The workers have updated, but the leaders have not,” says Prakash Rasaili Snehi. “Time has been given for the update. Those who come will be included in the process; the process will not be halted to wait for those who do not come.”

Pressure of the statute

The Special General Convention concluded on January 11, 2026, amended the Congress statute, introducing a new provision regarding membership management. In Clause 14 of Article 4 of the amended statute, a special provision has been included for updating membership records.

According to the statute, taking into account the situation after the Special General Convention, the Central Working Committee can make a one-time special decision to require all affiliated party members to re-fill the active membership form. Through this, membership records will be updated, and members retained after the update process will be provided with identity cards.

The Congress states that such a provision was introduced to systematize the distribution and management of party membership. The statute notes that the procedure, criteria, and deadlines related to membership distribution for update purposes shall be as prescribed by the Central Working Committee.

It has been arranged that the active membership of members who do not update within the timeframe prescribed by the Central Working Committee will not be retained. Members whose status is not updated will not be allowed to participate in the General Convention process.

Due to this very provision, leaders and workers of the Deuba-Koirala faction have reached a decisive turning point where they must choose between participating in the update process or staying out of the General Convention process.

The Membership Management Committee is of the view that the update process should not be prolonged further. Committee members are stating that the party’s regular General Convention schedule should not be affected by waiting for those who do not show up for the update. According to Joint General Secretary Rasaili, the party is working to resolve the update issue so that the schedule to hold the regular General Convention by September/October 2026 remains unchanged. “This is the party’s statute. The statute binds everyone. Everyone must stay within the system,” he says. “No one can participate in the party’s General Convention process without an updated identity card.”

He concludes that the issue of membership updating is not an agenda for dispute but an effort to modernize the party, meaning prolonged negotiations and meetings are unnecessary.

Disagreement over digital membership

The update process requires collecting details such as the phone number, mobile number, WhatsApp, and Facebook profiles of all members. According to Rasaili, at a time when the influence of digital technology is growing, the intent is to systematically organize the Congress membership system accordingly.

“The party cannot run the old way,” he says. “The power of social media has already become clear from the student uprising in Bangladesh and the Gen Z uprising in Nepal. At a time when social media can make or break election outcomes, the President has made an effort to digitize the party.”

However, the rival faction alleges that the issue of membership updates has become a merry-go-round in the Congress because the establishment side has not held substantive talks with them. “No new progress has been made. Therefore, we are not part of the update process,” says Dinesh Chandra Thapaliya, personal secretary to leader Shekhar Koirala.

The Deuba-Koirala faction maintains its stance that the renewal numbers prepared for the 15th General Convention should not be made a mandatory condition for the update. They conclude that making already renewed membership subject to another mandatory process in the name of an update is inappropriate. Although the rival group has acknowledged the existence of the Special General Convention, it has not fully accepted all the decisions made by it.

After the Membership Management Committee met on May 14, and enforced the statutory provision by treating the update as a mandatory condition, both the Deuba and Koirala factions have abstained from the process. As the dispute escalates, the issue of membership updates has brought the Deuba and Koirala factions to the same side.

Deuba-Koirala faction in ‘Wait and Watch’ mode

The Deuba-Koirala faction, which is firm on its stance of not joining the update process, has not released a new formal position. Both groups held a gathering in Biratnagar on June 14, declaring that they would unite to prevent the party from fracturing.

Deuba-aligned leaders Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, Shashank Koirala, NP Saud, Min Bishwakarma, and Mohan Bahadur Basnet attended the Koshi Province-level gathering. The gathering, where Shekhar Koirala was invited as the chief guest, concluded that preserving party unity is essential. Koirala has remained in Biratnagar since then.

Two days after the gathering, on June 16, Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Sitaula met in Dhulabari, Jhapa. The Sharma-Sitaula meeting took place while expressing condolences over the passing of Sharma’s late uncle, Shyam Bhandari. Although it is reported that internal party politics was discussed during the meeting, neither leader has spoken about it publicly.

The Deuba faction appears to be employing a ‘wait and watch’ strategy. The group has not carried out further activities since the Biratnagar gathering.

Leader Prakash Sharan Mahat states that no dialogue or discussion has taken place in the interim. According to him, after renewals were already completed, the condition for an update was introduced, and new terminology was used in the name of digital technology.

“Even previously, membership renewals were done via a computer system. I do not know why this has been turned into a completely new issue,” Mahat says. “It is in their hands; they might as well just tell us that we are not Congress members.”

He opines that if the party is to be made digital, the data already present in the renewals can simply be uploaded into the system.

“Some people may have left the party; their details can be requested from the districts and wards to remove them,” he says. “But it cannot be that you do it for some and not for others. Doing it for those who show up and saying ‘you are not Congress’ to those who don’t? Such an approach is completely illogical.”