President Paudel’s name in Congress voter list as special convention prepares to elect new leadership

Kathmandu: The special general convention of the Nepali Congress has announced the election schedule for choosing new party leadership.

One name on the published voter list that has drawn attention is Ram Chandra Paudel, the current President of Nepal.

In the voter list released Tuesday afternoon, Sher Bahadur Deuba appears at No. 1 as party president, while Paudel is listed at No. 2 with the designation “leader.”

Paudel was elected the third President of Nepal on March 9, 2023, as a Nepali Congress candidate. After assuming office, he had announced that he had resigned from the party. However, his name still appears in the Congress voting list.

A volunteer from the election committee said, “All representatives elected in the 14th general convention are listed, so the President’s name appears there.”

The ongoing special convention was convened by the dissident faction of the party after more than 50 percent of delegates from the 2021 general convention demanded it. Paudel had been one of the general convention representatives at that convention, which elected Deuba as party president.

During the last convention, Paudel was himself a contender for the party leadership and had his own panel. However, he withdrew at the last moment, citing a desire to stay away from the race “in view of the evolving situation in the party.”

Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma, the main organisers of the current special convention, were elected general secretaries from the Shekhar Koirala and Prakash Man Singh camps, respectively. While Sharma was initially considered a candidate from the Deuba faction, he switched camps after Deuba offered the post to Pradip Poudel from the Krishna Sitaula faction.

President Paudel, a long-time Congress leader, was defeated by Deuba in the 13th general convention.

Deuba has dismissed the special convention as illegitimate from the start, calling it a procedural violation. He has boycotted the gathering, yet his name also appears in the voter list.

After the convention moved a proposal to dissolve the Deuba-led Central Working Committee elected in the last convention, it is now preparing to elect new leadership.

Security has been tightened around Bhrikuti Mandap, the convention venue, following the announcement of the election schedule by the election committee’s coordinator, senior advocate Sitaram KC.