KATHMANDU: Amid the intensifying dispute over updating active membership, the Nepali Congress has once again issued an urgent reminder to complete the process by July 4, 2026. Issuing a notice on Wednesday, the party’s central office urged everyone to complete the remaining tasks related to renewal, updates, transfers, distribution of new active memberships, and membership management of public relations committees by July 4.

The Congress has termed this the ‘Active Membership Management Schedule.’ However, since the selection of representatives for the 15th National Convention and the internal balance of power are directly tied to the membership update, this deadline has further intensified the intra-party dispute.

According to Acting Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Dulal, the deadline for updating membership will not be extended beyond July 4. “This is the final time. The membership update period will not be extended after this,” Dulal says. “Those who do not come forward will no longer remain members of the party.”

The Congress began the membership renewal, new membership distribution, and update process on May 16, 2026. In the first phase, the deadline was set for June 4. It was then extended until midnight on June 11. Since the process was still not completed within that period, the deadline was extended again on June 14 until June 21. Now, the July 4 deadline has been set. According to Dulal, if there are errors in the details of the updated members, time until mid-July (July 16) will be given to correct them.

In accordance with the decision of the Central Membership Management Committee, the Congress has deployed central representatives to all 77 districts to facilitate the update, renewal, and distribution of new memberships. Dulal informed that if they cannot be contacted, the central office can be reached directly.

The issued notice highlights eight specific points regarding membership. Among them, those who missed updating their membership by June 11 have been given until July 4 to update it themselves.

The same deadline has been reiterated for the distribution of new active memberships, renewal and updates of memberships suspended during the 14th National Convention, updates for transferred members, membership updates and new active membership distribution for Nepali Public Relations Committees, as well as obtaining membership for those who integrated or joined the party.

According to Dulal, a policy has been adopted to increase the representation of youth under the age of 35 in the distribution of new active memberships. The Congress currently has 782,000 active members. Out of these, Dulal claims that 687,000 have updated their membership so far.

However, General Secretary Pradip Paudel states that July 4 is not a new deadline but rather a reminder of the existing one. He says, “This is the old deadline. It is just a reminder. Those who haven’t updated have been informed again to ensure that no one is left out.”

Central committee to decide on non-updates

The dispute over membership updates in the Congress flared up after the Special National Convention concluded on January 11, 2026. The Special Convention amended the party constitution, adding a special provision to Clause 14 of Article 4. According to this, the Central Working Committee can require all affiliated party members to refill the active membership form one time.

In line with this provision, the Congress is preparing to update membership records and issue an ‘NC ID’ to members who have completed the process. The establishment faction claims this provision was introduced to streamline membership management ahead of the 15th National Convention.

According to Dulal, only those who update their status by July 4 will receive an NC ID. Those who miss the update run the risk of being excluded from the lowest body of the 15th National Convention—the ward convention. “Everyone must abide by the party constitution,” Dulal says. “Just as a citizen cannot say they won’t follow the national constitution, a party member cannot say they won’t follow the party constitution. A final chance has been given to those who haven’t updated.” Dulal states that the Central Committee will make the final decision regarding those who fail to update.

Meanwhile, General Secretary Paudel mentions that the deadline has been repeatedly extended precisely to include those who were left out due to political reasons. “There is no intention to exclude anyone from the update,” he says. “Efforts are being made to accommodate those who were held back by political circumstances.”

Disagreement from the Deuba-Koirala faction

The non-establishment faction within the party disagrees with the membership update process. The faction led by former president Sher Bahadur Deuba and centrist leader Shekhar Koirala, who did not participate in the Special National Convention, has not actively taken part in the membership update campaign.

Their stance is that the update cannot be made a mandatory condition. They argue that the membership renewal carried out after the 14th National Convention should be considered equivalent to an update.

The Deuba faction has also put forward a demand to integrate the committee elected from the 14th National Convention with the committee elected from the Special National Convention. However, the establishment faction has shown no flexibility toward these demands. No formal dialogue has taken place between the two sides to resolve the dispute.

Meanwhile, President Gagan Thapa issued a stern warning targeting leaders and workers who fail to update their membership during a program organized in Jhapa on Tuesday. He stated that while he might know them personally, the party would not recognize anyone who has not updated their membership.

Following Thapa’s remarks, the Congress central office reminded everyone of the July 4 deadline once again. This appears to have further deepened the mistrust between the leadership and the rival faction over the membership dispute.

The Deuba-Koirala group has not formally reacted to the new deadline. Leaders say that Koirala, who has been in Biratnagar since the June 14 gathering, is preparing to return to Kathmandu to hold discussions with his group now that the membership update deadline has been publicized again.

The Congress is preparing to hold its 15th National Convention by September/October. If the membership update dispute is not resolved before then, the risk of questioning the legitimacy, representation, and balance of power of the convention will inevitably grow.