KATHMANDU: A meeting of the faction aligned with the immediate past President of the Nepali Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba, has concluded.

Held at the Golfutar residence of the former Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka, the gathering concluded that the party establishment side has not shown a responsible commitment toward maintaining party unity.

According to leader Bimalendra Nidhi, the meeting deduced that the establishment faction has used various pretexts to avoid taking responsibility for party unity.

“Our meeting has wrapped up, and we also reviewed the ongoing dialogue being initiated by the establishment side,” Nidhi said. “However, the conclusion reached is that the leadership is not acting responsibly to ensure party unity.”

The meeting also decided to establish a contact office in Chundevi to prepare for the upcoming 15th General Convention.

Nidhi stated that starting Monday, the faction’s formal meetings will be held at this new location. “Whatever our next steps are, we will decide them from that office,” Nidhi added.

He further informed that an expanded meeting of the office bearers and central committee members elected during the 14th General Convention will be convened at the Chundevi office.

The scheduled Monday meeting is expected to finalize the dates and logistics for the faction’s upcoming national gathering.

“While evaluating the recent discussions held between Purna Bahadurji, Shekharji, Gaganjee, and Bishwa Prakashji, our firm conclusion remains that the leadership is not being responsible about party unity,” Nidhi reiterated.

Both the Deuba faction and the faction led by leader Shekhar Koirala had previously stayed away from the party’s special general convention.

Consequently, neither group has participated in the active membership update process initiated by the establishment side.

The party establishment had set a deadline of July 4 for updating the active membership list, which expires at midnight on Saturday.

Notably, centrist leader Shekhar Koirala did not attend the Deuba faction’s meeting; in fact, the entire Koirala faction was absent from the gathering.

Meanwhile, the scheduled meeting of the Active Membership Management Committee failed to take place on Friday.

Sources indicated that the meeting could not sit due to the absence of the committee coordinator, General Secretary Pradip Paudel.