Pokhara, July 4

Rajiv Gurung, aka Dipak Manange, an independent member elected from Manang for the Provincial Assembly in Gandaki Province, has joined Nepal Communist Party (NCP).

His entry has been a great fillip to the party, which was one seat shy of two-thirds majority in the 60-strong Provincial Assembly. With the new member, NCP now has a total of 40 members in the assembly, while NC, Rastriya Janamorcha and Naya Shakti Party hold 15, 2 and 2 members respectively.

Gurung, who was a member of the NC’s Tarun Dal and was later aligned to Rastriya Prajatantra Party, had won as an independent Provincial Assembly candidate from Manang ‘Kha’ with the support of then CPN-UML.

NCP province in-charge and Chief Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung welcomed the new member to the party amidst a programme at the province party office.

Gurung had been out of contact for some time after the election over a criminal case against him. He was arrested in April last year. Released after the Supreme Court’s verdict, he was sworn in by the speaker of the Provincial Assembly in January this year, sixteen months after his election.

Meanwhile, along with Manange, Netra Bikram Chand-led party’s Kaski secretariat member Puspa Karki also entered the NCP today.