KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Thapa has resigned from his post, taking moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the House of Representatives (HoR) elections held on March 5.
According to sources, Thapa submitted his resignation to Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma, although the resignation letter has not been made public.
The party has scheduled a central working committee meeting for tomorrow (March 20), and Thapa stepped down ahead of the meeting.
Thapa was elected party {resident during the special general convention held at Bhrikuti Mandap in Kathmandu on January 11-14, which also formed a new central working committee under his leadership.
However, the legitimacy of the convention has been challenged in the Supreme Court by then President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka, and the case remains sub judice.
The Nepali Congress went into the elections soon after the convention, where Thapa was defeated in Sarlahi-4 by Amaresh Singh of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP). Several other senior leaders also failed to secure victories.
Following the party’s poor electoral performance and its reduced position in the House, leaders aligned with the Deuba faction had intensified criticism of Thapa.
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