Kathmandu: Gagan Kumar Thapa has been elected president of the Nepali Congress, while Bishwa Prakash Sharma has been elected senior vice-president unopposed, placing the party’s leadership firmly in the hands of two politicians once described as a pair of oxen.
Thapa, 50, emerged as the winner to the top position of the party with 6,584 votes in the 15th general convention of the party held Friday.
According to the Election Committee Coordinator Prem Bahadur Khadka, Thapa’s competitor Shyam Krishna Khadgi secured 375 votes.
Kishor Singh Rathore, who had also filed a nomination against Thapa, withdrew his candidacy. Sharma was the sole candidate for senior vice-president, while Pushpa Bhusal was the only candidate for women’s vice-president. Both were elected unopposed.
In December 2021, ahead of the Congress’s 14th general convention, the late Congress leader Pradip Giri described Thapa and Sharma as a pair of oxen who should pull the party forward together.
Two young men, truly young in age, in their speech, in their qualifications and in their emotions, Giri said at the time. Just as two oxen are yoked together to plough a field, the two of you should pull the Congress plough forward.
Five years on, Giri’s metaphor has taken on a political life of its own. Thapa is now the party president and Sharma his senior vice-president.
A total of 7,013 general convention delegates had voted in the election. However, 54 votes were declared invalid.
The general convention will form a 232-member central executive committee of the party.