Kathmandu, Oct. 6 -- Five years ago, when then party president Sher Bahadur Deuba increased the number of office-bearers at the Nepali Congress's 14th General Convention, then-general secretary Gagan Thapa opposed the move, accusing Deuba of creating additional posts to accommodate his faction.

Now, as party president, Thapa is overseeing an even larger expansion of the party's central committee to accommodate a growing number of aspirants.

The Congress has increased the size of its central working committee from 167 to 297 members. The number of office-bearers has risen from 14 to 26.

The changes were proposed in a report presented to the closed session of the 15th General Convention by a panel led by general secretary Pradeep Paudel....