Kathmandu, March 19
Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa has resigned. Thapa, who was defeated in the House of Representatives Elections held on March 5, submitted his resignation to Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma on Wednesday.
Previously elected from Kathmandu-4, Thapa was a candidate from Sarlahi-4 this time. He was defeated by Dr Amaresh Kumar Singh of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
While the RSP secured nearly a two-thirds majority of seats, the Nepali Congress, which came second, managed to win only 38 seats in total, 18 through the first-past-the-post system and 20 through the proportional representation system.
After the election results, Thapa had been preparing to resign, although leaders from various levels within the party had been advising and pressuring him not to do so.
Thapa had been unanimously elected as party president in a special general convention held before the elections. The party will decide on his resignation in its upcoming meeting, with the central working committee meeting scheduled for Friday.
