Amid mounting pressure, the Nepali Congress leadership has asked its student wing to gear up for its convention nearly a decade after the last jamboree.

Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed Nepal Student Union President Ranjit Karna twice to immediately announce the date for the union’s 10th convention. Following the directive, Karna has called Central Working Committee (CWC) meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. The meetings will fix the new date and venue for the convention which is likely to be held in the third week of September in the Capital.

Due to factional disputes, the most vibrant wing of the opposition party had been unable to hold biennial general convention since 2005.

“The new date will be fixed after consultations with CWC members,” said Karna. The date for the convention has already been fixed six times earlier, but the union failed each time to hold the election owing to disputes between the factions led by Deuba and late Sushil Koirala over the representative issue. The ninth convention was held in Chitwan in 2005. The row over convention representatives has largely been resolved, except in 11 districts and a dozen colleges, including Ratna Rajya, Public Youth and Tri-Chandra.

The Congress Central Working Committee on March 19 had directed all its sister wings to hold convention within six months.

The NSU President Ranjit Karna, who is a lawmaker under the proportional representation category, faces widespread criticism for failing to hold the convention on time. Karna, who is close to senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel, blames the party for wasting their crucial leadership phase by deferring the event.