Kathmandu, Jan 17 (AHN) The legitimacy dispute between two factions of the Nepali Congress is likely to be decided by the Supreme Court after the group headed by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday decided to approach the apex court.

The decision came a day after the Election Commission granted legitimacy to the leadership recently chosen by a Special General Convention (SGC) under the leadership of Gagan Thapa.

As both sides approached the Election Commission claiming to represent the Nepali Congress, the Commission on Friday recognised the Central Working Committee elected by the SGC, which was held from January 11 to 14 without the approval of the faction led by Deuba.

After being discarded by the election body as the legitimate leadership of the party, the Deuba faction on Saturday decided to move the Supreme Court against the Commission’s decision as early as Sunday.

“The meeting has decided to authorise Acting President (of the Deuba faction) Purna Bahadur Khadka to file a case at the Supreme Court and to undertake other legal actions against the decision taken by the Election Commission on Friday, which was made in violation of the Constitution of Nepal, prevailing laws, and the provisions of the Nepali Congress statute,” a press release issued by the faction said.

The faction accused the election body of taking the decision unilaterally without considering the evidence it had submitted.

On the other hand, the Thapa-led Nepali Congress also held a meeting on Saturday and decided to appeal to party leaders and cadres to forge unity ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 5.

Briefing the media about the party’s decisions, spokesperson Devaraj Chalise said the meeting of the newly elected Central Working Committee emphasised unity among leaders and cadres amid mounting challenges ahead of the elections.

The faction also decided to request Deuba, who continues to lead a separate faction, to play a guardian-like role in the party led by Thapa.

Following the Election Commission’s recognition of the Thapa-led faction, the Deuba faction appears to be racing against time to prove itself as the legitimate Nepali Congress leadership, as the deadline for candidate nomination under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system is January 20.

If the Supreme Court fails to issue an interim order against the Election Commission’s decision, the Thapa-led Nepali Congress is most likely to nominate candidates under the FPTP system, which would be disadvantageous for the Deuba faction.

However, the closed list of candidates under the proportional representation system has already been submitted to the Election Commission.

In Nepal’s House of Representatives, 165 candidates are elected under the FPTP system, and 110 candidates are elected through the proportional representation system.

This is the second time the Grand Old Party has split in the past 23 years. In 2002, Deuba — who was Prime Minister at the time — formed his own party, Nepali Congress (Democratic), after being expelled by the party led by the late Girija Prasad Koirala over his recommendation to dissolve the House of Representatives, a move that went against the party’s decision. Following the success of the 2006 People’s Movement, the two parties later merged to form a unified Nepali Congress.