BUTWAL, Feb 22: One of the three contenders for the party chairman of Communist Party of Nepal, Subodh Pyakurel, pulled out from the race Sunday morning, leaving the battlefield open only for top leaders Jhala Nath Khanal and KP Sharma Oli. The voting is set to start shortly.
Earlier on Sunday, a contender for the position of UML secretary, Surendra Pandey, who is close to the candidate for chairman Jhala Nath Khanal, withdrew his candidacy. [break]
The Election Committee of the 8th general convention of the party said a total of 63 contenders for central committee (CC) berths have also withdrawn their candidacies, leaving only 396 for the CC race.
With Pandey’s withdrawal from the fray, there are only six contenders for three positions of secretary. The six are Ram Chandra Jha, Yubaraj Gyawali and Rajendra Shrestha (in the Khanal side) and Bishnu Poudel, Shankar Pokharel and Raghubir Mahaseth (in the KP Oli side).
Though the voting was scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. Sunday, the time has been extended until 12 noon. The Election Committee has also given two more hours for the contenders for the office-bearer positions until 10:00 a.m.
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