Kathmandu, March 14
The Sher Bahadur Deuba faction in the Nepali Congress had thrown his weight behind three tainted Congress leaders vying for central working committee seats.
Of them, only Khum Bahadur Khadka, who did time for invovlement in corruption, is sure to become a Congress CWC member. As the votes he has polled show, Khadka will become one of the 25 CWC members to be elected in the open category. Khadka has polled 1,608 out of 2,750 votes counted so far and secured the second position. Other tainted figures from the Deuba panel, Chiranjivi Wagle and Govinda Raj Joshi, had also fielded candidatures from the Deuba camp.
Despite Deuba’s support, Joshi and Wagle will not be able to make it to the CWC this time around. Govinda Raj Joshi is on number 32, while Minendra Rijal, with 1,261 votes, is on number 25. With only 400 votes uncounted, it’s clear that Joshi will not make it to the Congress central working committee. Joshi had failed to make it to the CWC in the 12th general convention as well, polling 1,004 votes in the race.
Chiranjivi Wagle is on number 39, with 655 votes. In the 12th GC, he had polled 886 votes.
Former Speaker Taranath Rana Bhat, Laxman Ghimire, Shobhakhar Parajuli and Binayadhoj Chand have also failed to make it to the NC CWC this time. No different is the fate of lawmaker Ramhari Khatiwada and Govinda Raj Pokharel, former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission. Former president of Nepal Bar Association Prem Bahadur Khadka, lawmaker Rajan KC and Ramkrishna Tamrakar will also have to stay out of the NC CWC, at least this time.
