KATHMANDU: The doors of dialogue have finally opened between the establishment faction and the dissident (other) group within the Nepali Congress. On Friday, General Secretary Gururaj Ghimire from the establishment side initiated formal talks by meeting leader Shekhar Koirala from the dissident faction. Ghimire visited Koirala’s residence in Biratnagar today (Friday) to hold the discussion.

Ghimire stated that he initiated the formal discussion with Koirala upon returning from a personal trip to India. “I had met him before leaving for India as well, and the meeting after my return has progressed in a positive direction,” Ghimire remarked.

Both Koirala and Ghimire hail from Biratnagar. Ghimire was elected as General Secretary during the party’s special convention. Serious differences exist between the establishment and dissident factions regarding the processes initiated by the party ahead of the upcoming 15th General Convention. In particular, bitterness between the two sides has intensified following the establishment’s decision to update membership records.

Ghimire mentioned that following this initial meeting with Koirala, he also plans to hold talks with the faction led by former President Sher Bahadur Deuba. “I have spoken over the phone with Purna Bahadur Khadka and Krishna Prasad Sitaula,” Ghimire said. “I will meet them as soon as I arrive in Kathmandu.”

With the party’s General Secretary initiating dialogue with the dissident group, the lack of communication that had persisted since late April is considered broken. Ghimire believes this marks the beginning of efforts to reconcile both sides. “I have conveyed the message regarding the initiation of talks with the dissident faction to the Party President via the Vice President,” Ghimire added.

No formal dialogue had taken place between the two factions since Party President Gagan Thapa met with Deuba-faction leader Khadka on April 18. Similarly, President Thapa and leader Koirala last met on May 4. Since then, they have had neither a meeting nor any formal conversation. Koirala had been expressing dissatisfaction with President Thapa, accusing him of refusing to engage in dialogue instead of embracing dissident views.

What was discussed in the meeting?

The Nepali Congress had decided to hold talks with the dissident faction 15 days ago. The decision to initiate these talks was made collectively by President Thapa, Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma, and General Secretaries Gururaj Ghimire and Pradip Paudel. As part of that effort, Ghimire had met Koirala once before travelling to India.

Ghimire stated that during today’s meeting, the discussion centered around the five-point proposal put forward by Koirala and the seven-point proposal brought forward by the establishment side. “I spoke about the seven points and listened to his perspective as well,” Ghimire said. “He mentioned that he hadn’t been able to meet the President after presenting his five-point proposal.”

The Nepali Congress had made public its seven-point proposal sent to the dissident group on June 14. Ghimire noted that the meeting touched upon how to accommodate dissident voices that seem outside the institutional consensus and how to move forward together into the 15th General Convention.

Two other proposals raised by Koirala within his five points were also discussed. Koirala had proposed adjusting the committees elected during the 14th General Convention and the Special General Convention. “His proposal is to either adjust both committees or not adjust them at all,” Ghimire explained.

The Koirala and Deuba factions did not participate in the Special General Convention held in January. Koirala was displeased after President Thapa nominated central committee members contrary to his proposal. Thapa had nominated 18 leaders from the Deuba faction and 11 from the Koirala faction. “Now, the proposal is to either do it entirely or not at all,” Ghimire said. “This will be discussed with the leadership.”

Another proposal from Koirala requested fair representation for all factions across the discipline, election, active membership, and investigation committees. Koirala and Ghimire discussed this point during the meeting as well. “We talked about creating a trustworthy environment for the General Convention by ensuring everyone’s representation in those committees; this is not a difficult task,” Ghimire stated.

According to him, the issue of updating membership records was not brought up during the discussion. Koirala disagrees with the current update process. Both the Deuba and Koirala factions share a similar stance on this matter. They maintain that the 15th General Convention should be held based on renewals from the 14th General Convention and that the new update process should not be made a mandatory prerequisite.

Ghimire, however, believes that leaders will eventually join the process as updating has become widely accepted. “Almost all cadres have updated their membership; only the major leaders are left. Since this is a matter concerning the party’s constitution, it cannot be bypassed,” Ghimire argued. “There is still time for the updates. Those who do not join the process within this period will miss out on the 15th General Convention.” He expressed confidence that once consensus is reached on core issues, disagreements regarding the update will fade.

Meanwhile, the Koirala faction has not made its stance public regarding the talks. Koirala has been in Biratnagar since June 14. It is understood that he will hold discussions within his group once he returns to Kathmandu. The Deuba-Koirala alliance had organized a Koshi province-level gathering in Biratnagar on June 14.

The Nepali Congress held its Special General Convention on January 11-13, 2026. The committee elected from that convention is preparing to hold the 15th General Convention in October. In preparation, the party had started distributing new memberships, renewals, and updates from May 15.

The deadline for this process was initially set for June 4. It was then extended by a week until the midnight of June 11. However, the membership issue remained unresolved, leading to another extension until June 21. Since the update process was still incomplete, the new deadline has been set for July 4. Amidst mounting disputes over active membership, the Nepali Congress published a reminder schedule on June 24, urging the dissident faction to complete the membership updates.

The Special General Convention introduced new provisions regarding membership management that carry long-term impacts on the party’s organizational structure. A special provision inserted into Clause 14 of Article 4 through a constitutional amendment laid the groundwork to redefine the internal power balance. According to this provision, keeping post-Special General Convention circumstances in mind, the Central Working Committee can make a one-time special decision to require all affiliated members to re-fill active membership forms. This process is meant to update membership records, and members validated after this update will be issued a central identity card.