Kathmandu: Gagan Thapa, President of the Nepali Congress, has stepped down from his position, taking moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the recent House of Representatives (HoR) elections held on March 5.
Sources indicate that Thapa submitted his resignation to Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma, although the resignation letter has yet to be made public. His decision came just a day before the party’s scheduled central working committee meeting on March 20.
Thapa had been elected party president during the special general convention held at Bhrikuti Mandap from January 11 to 14, which also formed a new central working committee under his leadership. However, the legitimacy of that convention has been challenged in the Supreme Court of Nepal by then President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka. The case is still under judicial review.
Soon after the convention, the party entered the elections, where Thapa himself was defeated in Sarlahi-4 by Amaresh Singh of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party. Several other senior leaders also failed to win their seats.
Following the party’s poor performance and its reduced standing in the House, leaders aligned with the Deuba faction had intensified criticism against Thapa, ultimately leading to his resignation.
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