Kathmandu, April 5

President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Pashupati Murarka, today morning called candidates vying for the post of senior vice-president in the upcoming FNCCI election — Shekhar Golchha and Kishore Pradhan — urging them to forge consensus.

However, both Golchha and Pradhan refused to withdraw their candidacy for the aforementioned post.

As the FNCCI annual general meeting and the election for a new FNCCI executive committee are scheduled for next week, Murarka had urged both the candidates to look at possibilities of forging consensus and getting a candidate unanimously elected to the post of senior vice-president.

“Though both the candidates welcomed my effort, they said it was too late to reach a consensus,” Murarka said, adding that he would, however, push for consensus till the end.

The FNCCI election is scheduled for April 11.

Both Golchha and Pradhan have already entered into fierce competition for the post of senior vice-president by registering their candidacy and announcing their respective election panels.

Murarka also urged both the candidates to compete in a healthy manner so that the competition does not affect the legacy of FNCCI.

On being queried about his participation in the election events organised by Golchha and his support to Golchha panel and the ethics related to this, Murarka stated he had participated in the event organised by the Golchha panel as a guest. “As I was invited by Golchha as a guest to the

programme, I attended the event. Had the other candidate called me, I would have joined their programme too,” Murarka said.

Meanwhile, Golchha said that there is no chance of consensus from his side as things have moved ahead already. “I believe in fair election rather than consensus for any leadership position. It is through election that any institution can get a capable and competitive leadership,” he told The Himalayan Times.

Similarly, another contender for the post of senior vice-president, Pradhan, amid an event today, appealed to all voters in the FNCCI election to cast their vote for him and his panel for a successful and dedicated leadership at FNCCI.

Both the contenders have been claiming that their panel would lead the FNCCI after the election.