Kathmandu, October 26
Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa has said the preliminary process of selecting candidates for the upcoming local-level elections will be completed by Poush-Magh.
Speaking at a programme in Syangja on Monday, Thapa said the party would end the old practice of distributing election tickets at the last minute and prepare a preliminary list of candidates through voting by grassroots-level party members.
“This time, there will be no more taking or distributing tickets two days, five days or even two hours before an election, or withdrawing tickets from one candidate and giving them to another, as happened in the past. We will complete the preliminary selection process in Poush-Magh,” Thapa said.
He said the preliminary list would be prepared through digital voting. “Even after preparing the list, we will hold discussions at various levels before finalising the candidates. We must complete the candidate selection process two to three months before the election,” he said.
Thapa said internal competition within the party was over and that the Congress should now unite and focus on the public. He stressed the need for party members to move forward together as an organisation.
“What we have lost is not votes but trust. Once we restore that trust, votes will follow. When people trust us, votes come naturally; when we lose their trust, we lose votes as well,” he said.
He said the party should prioritise restoring public trust rather than focusing solely on retaining votes ahead of the elections. This would require every party member to fulfil their organisational responsibilities and improve the party’s public image.
Thapa also announced plans to observe Mangsir as a month of political awareness and mobilisation. He said the party would formulate a programme at the upcoming Central Working Committee meeting and reach out to party members to strengthen internal ties.
According to Thapa, the party will focus on organisational strengthening and restoring public trust in Mangsir, followed by election-oriented activities in Poush and Magh.
“Let us make Mangsir a month of political awareness. We will formulate a programme at the Central Working Committee meeting the day after tomorrow. We will then focus on election-related activities in December and January,” Thapa said.
