Kathmandu, Nepal | January 23, 2026: Newly elected President of the Nepali Congress (NC), Gagan Thapa, officially assumed office on Friday, marking the commencement of a new leadership era with a high-stakes pledge to overhaul both the party and the country’s governance.
During his formal installation at the party’s central headquarters in Sanepa, Lalitpur, on Friday afternoon, Thapa performed the symbolic act of recording his vision in the party’s official minute register. “We changed the Congress; now, we will change the country,” Thapa wrote. “With this resolve, we are embarking on a new journey. Our only goal is the prosperity of the nation.”
This transition comes at a pivotal moment for the country’s oldest political party. The NC Central Working Committee has already signaled its intent to project the young leader as the party’s candidate for Prime Minister in the upcoming House of Representatives elections. This strategic positioning reflects a growing appetite within the party to align with public sentiment and distance itself from the traditional political "old guard."
Addressing a dense crowd of journalists following a committee meeting, Thapa emphasized that the party’s recent special convention was not merely an internal reshuffle, but a response to a nationwide demand for reform. He stated that the "rejuvenated" party would now focus on concrete policies designed to pivot Nepal’s economic and social trajectory toward long-term prosperity.
“The party has emerged from the special convention reformed, in accordance with the spirit of the people,” Thapa said. He added that the next phase of his leadership would be defined by a shift from political rhetoric to result-oriented national policies.
Political analysts view Thapa’s elevation and his "prime-ministerial" projection as a calculated move by the Nepali Congress to capture the youth vote and present a modernized face to an increasingly disillusioned electorate.
