Nepali Congress declares Gagan Thapa as its PM candidate

Kathmandu, Jan 23 (PTI) The Nepali Congress on Friday announced that the party chief Gagan Thapa will be the prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming March elections.

The declaration was made during the newly elected Central Working Committee meeting held at the party headquarters in Sanepa, Lalitpur district.

The proposal to nominate 49-year-old Thapa was put forward by Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma and seconded by fellow Vice President Pushpa Bhusal, which was unanimously endorsed by the committee, according to Nepali Congress sources.

Thapa was elected the president of Nepali Congress (NC) earlier this month. Soon after his election, Sharma announced that Thapa would be the party's prime ministerial candidate.

Earlier, former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah "Balen", 35, leader of Rastriya Swotantra Party and deposed Prime Minister and CPN-UML chair K P Sharma Oli, 74, have been declared Prime Ministerial candidates by their respective political parties.

Both Oli and Balen are contesting the parliamentary election from Jhapa-5 constituency, while Thapa is contesting from Sarlahi-4 constituency. PTI ZH ZH