Kathmandu, Oct. 7: Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa will face Kishor Singh Rathour and Shyam Krishna Khadka in a three-way race for the party presidency after all three filed their nominations at the NC’s 15th General Convention on Tuesday.
Thapa, who took over the party leadership following the Special General Convention held after the Gen Z movement reshaped the country’s political leadership, had been widely expected to retain the presidency. The candidacies of Rathour and Khadka, however, have ensured a contest for the party’s top post.
The nomination process concluded Tuesday evening. Senior leader Bishwo Prakash Sharma was elected unopposed as senior vice president after no other candidate filed for the position. Pushpa Bhusal was also elected unopposed as vice president under the women’s category.
Nine candidates are competing for two open vice president positions: 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, Binod Chaudhary, Farmullah Mansur, Jeevan Pariyar, Ranjit Karna and Sita Gurung, are contesting the single vice president position under the inclusive category.
The general secretary races have also drawn several candidates. Dila Sangraula, Rita Khanal and Mahalaxmi Upadhyay are competing for the single women’s general secretary position.
Eight candidates are contesting two open general secretary positions: Shankar Tiwari, Sunil Sharma, Nain Singh Mahar, Pradip Paudel, Gururaj Ghimire, Amar Singh Pun, Uday Shumsher Rana and Santosh Upadhyay.
For the joint general secretary position under the Khas Arya category, Jagadish Narsingh KC, Manoj Mani Acharya and Shubharam Basnet have filed their nominations.
Lalitpur Metropolitan City Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan has entered the race for Central Working Committee membership. Maharjan, elected mayor on an NC ticket in both 2017 and 2022, said he wants to contribute to the party’s transformation and strengthen its 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 confirmed as eligible voters. They will elect the party president, vice presidents, general secretaries, joint general secretaries and members of the Central Working Committee.
The Central Election Committee finalized the voter list after reviewing claims and objections filed against the preliminary list.
Under the election rules, candidates must submit the required number of proposers and seconders with their nomination papers. Presidential candidates need 10 proposers and 10 seconders, while candidates for vice president and general secretary need seven each. Joint general secretary candidates require five, while Central Working Committee candidates need three proposers and three seconders.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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