Kathmandu, December 27
134 people including office bearers and central members have been elected from the 14th
general convention of Nepali Congress. The remaining 33 members of the 167-member Central
Committee will be nominated by Central Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Similarly, the chairperson should also nominate one of the elected central members as
treasurer. At present, there are many aspirants within the Congress for the post.
Out of the 14 members of the Congress, 13 have been elected. Sher Bahadur Deuba was
elected as the chairman for the second term while Purna Bahadur Khadka and Dhanraj Gurung
were elected as the vice chairmen. Similarly, Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma
were elected as general secretaries while eight joint general ministers were elected as per
cluster.
Dina won on the women's side, Bhishma Raj Aang dembe on the tribal side, Jeevan Pariyar on
the dalit side and Kishore Singh Rathore on the Khas Arya side. Similarly, Mahendra Yadav from
Madhesi side, Farmullah Mansur from Muslim side and Umakanta Chaudhary from Tharu side
were elected as joint general ministers.
In the past, elections were held for the post of treasurer. Chitralekha Yadav was elected
treasurer from the 12th general convention of the Nepali Congress and Sita Devi Yadav was
elected from the 13th general convention. On the 13th, Sita Devi defeated Chitralekha.
Who's in the discussion?
The names of more than six leaders nominated by the Congress are in the news. Chairman
Deuba's group dominates the working committee elected from the General Convention. Deuba
will nominate a person close to him as treasurer. The names of Binod Chaudhary, an
industrialist who became a central member of the Congress for the first time, and Chitralekha
Yadav, a former treasurer, are in the news.
According to a leader close to Chairman Deuba, the names of Chaudhary, Yadav, Minister for
Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Central Member
Surendra Pandey, Minister without portfolio Umesh Shrestha and former Joint General Minister
Sunil Thapa are being discussed.
The Chaudhary, Nepal's only dollar treasurer, has more lobbying than any other leader. He had
lobbied for a foreign minister in the Deuba government. According to the Congress leaders,
Chaudhary's emphasis is on the treasurer. Chaudhary has been saying that the party's financial
system will be strengthened by streamlining the party's fund and ending the system of running
the party from donations.
Yadav, who was elected treasurer from the Deuba faction in the 12th general convention, was
defeated in the same post in the 13th general convention. Deuba is also under pressure to
make Yadav the treasurer to increase the number of women in office. Out of 13 Congress office
bearers, only one is a woman. Dina Upadhyaya has been elected as the joint general minister
under the cluster. The name of Pushpa Bhusal as treasurer is also being discussed.
Minister for Information Technology Karki was appointed by Deuba as the coordinator of the
Economic Committee at the General Convention. Karki, who is also a former finance minister,
was aspiring for the post. Some leaders have demanded that Karki, who is considered Deuba's
confidant, be made treasurer. But Karki has not shown any interest in the post of treasurer.
Sunil Thapa, who was given the responsibility of joint general secretary when he joined the
Nepali Congress from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, was limited to a central member from the
general convention. "His wish is to become an office-bearer. He also claimed to be an office-
bearer in the General Convention, but when the equation was formed, he became a candidate
for central member," said a leader close to Thapa.
Although the treasurer is not an executive in running the organization, it is considered
important as it has to manage the party's budget. Leaders say that the chairman will appoint his
confidant as the treasurer as he will arrange the financial resources for the party and pay the
amount as per the party decision.
By Karuna Thapa
