KATHMANDU, October 7: Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa will face Kishor Singh Rathour and Shyam Krishna Khadka in the contest for party president after all three filed their candidacies at the party’s 15th General Convention on Tuesday.
Thapa, who assumed the party leadership following the Special General Convention convened after the Gen Z movement led to a change in the country’s political leadership, had been widely expected to secure the party presidency. However, Rathour and Khadka also registered their candidacies, setting up a three-way contest for the top post.
The nomination process for the convention concluded on Tuesday evening.
Senior leader Bishwo Prakash Sharma has been elected unopposed as senior vice president after no other candidate filed for the post. Similarly, Pushpa Bhusal has been elected unopposed as vice president under the women’s category, with no other candidate registering for the single post.
Election expenditure limit for presidential and vice-presidenti...
Nine candidates have filed their nominations for two posts of vice president under the open category. They are Dr Chandra Mohan Yadav, Surendra Raj Pandey, Dr Minendra Rijal, Gobinda Bhattarai, Devraj Chalise, Madhu Prasad Acharya, Dhanraj Gurung, Dipak Giri and Dr Chandra Bhandari.
Five candidates are contesting for the single vice president post under the inclusive category. They are Binod Chaudhary, Farmullah Mansur, Jeevan Pariyar, Ranjit Karna and Sita Gurung.
The contest for general secretary is also set to be competitive. Three candidates—Dila Sangraula, Rita Khanal and Mahalaxmi Upadhyay—have filed nominations for the single women’s general secretary post, while eight candidates are contesting for two open general secretary positions.
The candidates for the two open general secretary posts are Shankar Tiwari, Sunil Sharma, Nain Singh Mahar, Pradip Paudel, Gururaj Ghimire, Amar Singh Pun, Uday Shumsher Rana and Santosh Upadhyay.
For the post of joint general secretary under the Khas Arya category, Jagadish Narsingh KC, Manoj Mani Acharya and Shubharam Basnet have filed their nominations for the single post.
Lalitpur Metropolitan City Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan has also filed his candidacy for central member. Maharjan, who was elected mayor of Lalitpur in the 2017 and 2022 local elections on a Nepali Congress ticket, said he was contesting to contribute to the transformation of the party and strengthen the transformed organization.
“The party needs to move forward by harnessing the energy of young people. This is both a need and a demand of the present,” Maharjan said.
A total of 7,114 delegates have been finalized as eligible voters for the convention. The convention will elect the party’s president, vice presidents, general secretaries, joint general secretaries and Central Working Committee members.
The Central Election Committee had published the final voter list after reviewing claims and objections to the preliminary list.
Candidates are required to submit details of their proposers and seconders along with their nomination papers. A presidential candidate needs 10 proposers and 10 seconders, while vice presidential and general secretary candidates require seven each. Candidates for joint general secretary and Central Working Committee member require five and three proposers and seconders, respectively.
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