Dr. Minendra Rijal to withdraw vice-president bid after meeting Gagan Thapa

Nepali Congress leader Dr. Minendra Rijal is set to withdraw his candidacy for vice-president at the party's 15th general convention.

He made the decision after meeting presidential candidate Gagan Thapa on Tuesday evening and holding talks with him. It has been reported that an agreement was reached during the meeting for Rijal to withdraw his vice-presidential candidacy.

Under the convention rules, candidates may withdraw their candidacies and amend their registered nominations until today, Wednesday. After that, the final list of candidates will be published.

According to the first list published by the Election Committee, 840 people have filed candidacies for the 297-member Central Working Committee. Three people, including Gagan Thapa, have filed for party president. Biswaprakash Sharma for senior vice-president and Pushpa Bhusal for women's vice-president have already been elected unopposed.