KATHMANDU: Senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was elected the president of Nepali Congress through its 13th national general convention, on Wednesday took up the reins of the country's largest democratic party.

The acting president of the party, Ram Chandra Paudel, handed over the leadership to Deuba amid a function organised at the Nepali Congress central office in Sanepa.

The new Nepali Congress president announced that he nominated seven leaders in the party's Central Working Committee as per the party statute.

Earlier, the party's election committee had distributed certificates to the office bearers and members of the newly elected CWC.

The nominees include Ram Chandra Paudel, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Arjun Narsingha KC, Gagan Kumar Thapa, Chitra Lekha Yadav, Uma Kanta Chaudhary and Narahari Acharya.

Paudel and Sitaula were defeated in the party's presidential election last week by Deuba. Likewise, KC and Thapa had lost the election for the general secretary, and Yadav and Chaudhary for the treasurer.

A former minister and CWC member, Acharya could not have attended the party's 13th national general convention as he was hospitalised after suffering a brain hemorrhage on February 9.

The party statute requires the party chief to nominate 21 persons to give a full shape to the 85-member body.

Deuba will also appoint a Vice-President, a General Secretary and a Joint General Secretary from among the elected CWC members.

All the appointments have to be endorsed by the elected CWC.

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