- Gagan Kumar Thapa was elected president of the Nepali Congress, securing 6,584 votes, or 93.88%, at the party’s 15th General Convention.
- Thapa defeated Shyam Krishna Khadgi by a significant margin, while counting for other Central Working Committee positions continues in Lalitpur.
- The election formalizes Thapa’s presidency after he took over leadership from Sher Bahadur Deuba during a special convention in 2026.
- Of the 7,013 votes cast at Kathmandu's National Assembly Hall, 6,959 were valid, with 54 ballots declared invalid.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Gagan Kumar Thapa has been elected president of the Nepali Congress, securing 6,584 votes in the party’s 15th General Convention.
His rival, Shyam Krishna Khadgi, received 375 votes, while 54 ballots were declared invalid, according to the election results reported by Nepali media.
The voting took place on Friday, and the counting for the party presidency concluded late at night at the National Assembly Hall in Kathmandu.
According to the reported figures, 7,013 votes were cast, of which 6,959 were valid. Thapa received 93.88 percent of the total votes cast, while Khadgi secured 5.35 percent. Invalid ballots accounted for 0.77 percent.
The Election Committee was also reported to have said that 7,039 of the 7,317 eligible convention representatives had voted. However, this turnout figure does not match the reported total of 7,013 ballots. The discrepancy needs clarification from the committee.
Ballot boxes for other positions in the party’s Central Working Committee were taken to the Nepali Congress central office in Sanepa, Lalitpur, for further counting.
Thapa previously served as general secretary of the Nepali Congress after being elected at the party’s 14th General Convention in 2021. He has advocated leadership change and organisational reform within the party.
He became party president following a special general convention held in Kathmandu in January 2026, which replaced the leadership of Sher Bahadur Deuba. The Election Commission recognised the Thapa-led committee, and the Supreme Court upheld the legitimacy of the special convention in April 2026.
The 15th General Convention is the party’s first regular national convention since December 2021. Thapa’s election formally confirms his position as party president through the regular convention.
