The Central Working Committee meeting of the Nepali Congress, which was postponed for the time being due to the demise of CWC member Khum Bahadur Khadka, will resume on April 20.

The CWC is reviewing the party’s performance in the elections to the House of Representatives and the provincial assemblies. According to Sharma, the party is preparing to wrap up the CWC meeting, by fixing the date for a meeting of the Mahasamiti, a body mandated to make policy decisions. “There is an understanding at the top level of the party that the CWC meeting should not be extended for long. It will go on for three days maximum,” said Sharma. The NC would then be busy with preparations for the Mahasamiti meeting.

The meeting will also form a task force to amend the party statute and to transform its organisation into the federal structure. According to leaders, the party is also expected to form a committee to probe intra-party betrayal.

The country has already embraced a federal set-up with central, provincial and local governments but the NC still functions under the old structure.

There are demands from rival factions to hold the general convention for a change in leadership. Leaders close to party President Sher Bahadur Deuba say chances of holding the convention in the near future are slim.

Two rival factions led by Ram Chandra Poudel and Krishna Prasad Sitaula are pressing Deuba to step down. Senior leader Shekhar Koirala also stresses the need to revive the party.