KATHMANDU, MARCH 22
The Central Working Committee of Nepali Congress has rejected the resignation of its President Gagan Kumar Thapa, who had decided to quit, embracing moral responsibility for the party's election defeat.
Last Wednesday, Thapa tendered his resignation to Vice-President Bishwaprakash Sharma, taking full responsibility for the defeat. A proposal to reject Thapa's resignation was approved at a meeting on Friday and Sunday at the party's central office in Sanepa.
During the meeting, Sharma proposed to reject the president's resignation. According to spokesperson Devraj Chalise, Thapa's leadership has been perceived as being even more important in light of the complicated national circumstances at hand.
Chalise said, "The decision to reject the resignation has been made because accepting it is likely to cause unnecessary instability, confusion and a decline in the morale of the party workers. It is appropriate to reject the resignation while respecting it because it is a moral and voluntary matter rather than a mandatory one."
The NC elected Thapa as its president at the special general convention from January 11-14. The NC won only 38 seats out of 275 in the House of Representatives elections on March 5, despite Thapa working hard and branding the Nepali Congress as Congress 2.0.
In Sarlahi Constituency-4, Rastriya Swatantra Party candidate Amresh Sing defeated Thapa by a huge margin of 12,857 votes. Thapa only managed to secure 22,831 votes, compared to Singh's 35,688.
Chalise also said that the party should now focus on the upcoming 15th general convention under the leadership of Thapa.