Kathmandu, Nepal, March 19, 2026: Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa has resigned from his post. Thapa, who suffered a defeat in the House of Representatives elections held on March 5 (Falgun 21), submitted his resignation to Vice President Bishwo Prakash Sharma on Wednesday.
Thapa, who had been consistently elected from Kathmandu-4 in previous elections, contested from Sarlahi-4 this time. He was defeated by Dr. Amaresh Kumar Singh of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). While the RSP secured nearly a two-thirds majority, Nepali Congress finished second with only 38 seats—18 through the first-past-the-post system and 20 via proportional representation.
Although Thapa had been preparing to step down following the election results, leaders from various levels of the party had been advising and pressuring him not to resign. Thapa was elected unopposed as President during a special general convention held prior to the elections. The party’s upcoming meeting will decide on his resignation; a Central Working Committee meeting has been called for Friday.
The Central Working Committee meeting on Friday will be chaired by Vice President Bishwo Prakash Sharma. The agenda includes formalizing the notification of President Gagan Kumar Thapa’s resignation and presenting a preliminary report on the party's electoral defeat. Since final reports from lower party committees are still pending, Vice President Sharma will provide an initial briefing on the loss.
The central office has issued a circular to all constituencies, requesting detailed explanations for both victories and defeats. According to party sources, the meeting will primarily focus on Thapa’s resignation. Vice President Sharma is reportedly preparing a proposal to reject the resignation, arguing that the defeat was not due to individual leadership but rather the challenge of a newly elected leadership heading into elections with very little preparation time.
