KATHMANDU: Negotiations between Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma concluded Wednesday morning without reaching any agreement, party sources said to Nepal News.

The talks, held at Deuba’s residence in Maharajgunj, were an attempt to address demands from the faction advocating a special convention within the party. Also present were senior leaders Ramesh Lekhak, Bal Krishna Khand, and Minendra Rijal.

The two secretaries reportedly insisted that Deuba’s resignation was their “bottom line,” a demand that the party establishment, including Deuba himself, refused to accept, according to a participant. The discussion lasted approximately an hour, after which Thapa and Sharma left for the special convention venue, signaling that the talks had failed to produce a solution.

Following the breakdown, the party’s central committee began assembling at its Sanepa office to explore ways to resume discussions with the special convention faction. A central committee meeting initially scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday was postponed multiple times before briefly convening Tuesday night and then being adjourned until Wednesday.

Deuba personally called the two secretaries for Wednesday morning talks after earlier discussions conducted by his own faction’s leaders failed to reach consensus. Thapa and Sharma pressed Deuba to implement commitments he had reportedly made on September 14, including stepping back from active party roles.

Meanwhile, the special convention in Bhrikuti Mandap extended its nomination schedule from 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday. Negotiations between the party establishment and the convention faction had continued throughout Tuesday without producing a definitive outcome.

The talks collapsed after the special convention faction’s demand that Deuba resign and allow the selection of new leadership could not be reconciled with Deuba’s position. Instead, the faction had proposed that Deuba declare himself politically inactive and refrain from contesting the upcoming House of Representatives election.