Kathmandu, Feb 20: Pranay Shumsher Rana, a House of Representatives ticket aspirant from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Kathmandu constituency 5 and head of its central grievance department, along with Deepak KC, a central committee member of the Nepali Communist Party, have joined the Nepali Congress.

Rana, who holds a PhD in conflict management, had contested the previous Parliamentary election from the same constituency as an RSP candidate. In the 2022 parliamentary election, he had secured 5,477 votes.

Rana had recently resigned from the RSP, accusing the party of violating its own procedures in ticket distribution. He had long questioned the party’s method, saying it collected fees promising candidate selection through primaries but later distributed tickets outside that process.

Observers believe Rana’s departure from the RSP and entry into Congress could benefit the latter in the Kathmandu 5 race, where he had built a strong local base.

UML’s Manandhar, Dhakal enter Congress

Meanwhile, Influential CPN UML leader and former minister Ram Bir Manandhar, along with former lawmaker Janardan Dhakal and 78 other leaders and cadres, have joined the Nepali Congress.

Congress President Gagan Thapa welcomed Manandhar and the group into the party during the manifesto unveiling program held at the National Assembly Hall on Thursday, Feb 19. The induction took place after Thapa’s question-and-answer session on the manifesto.

Dhakal had served as a Constituent Assembly member from UML and as the party’s former district chair in Rasuwa. Meanwhile, Dr Pranay Shumsher Rana, who recently quit the Rastriya Swatantra Party, has also joined the Nepali Congress. Rana had been seeking the RSP ticket from Kathmandu 7.

On the same day, Deepak KC, a central committee member of the Nepali Communist Party, also entered the Nepali Congress.

Similarly, KC, who has a strong influence in KMC ward 3 and previously served as ward chair, is also expected to strengthen Congress at the organizational level.

Both leaders were formally welcomed into the party at a program held at the National Assembly Hall by Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa and General Secretary Pradip Paudel.

Paudel is the Nepali Congress candidate for the House of Representatives from Kathmandu 5.

People’s News Monitoring Service

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