Milanbabu Shrestha has been elected president of the Nepali Congress Chitwan district committee through a district convention organised by the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction ahead of the party's 15th general convention. The convention also decided the remaining senior posts of the district unit, electing Deepak Adhikari as vice-president and Ghanshyam Poudel 'Shyam' as secretary, along with a panel of members who will share responsibility for running the party's organisation in the district. The election hands Chitwan's Congress a complete new leadership team as the party works through its internal process in the run-up to its national gathering.

New Office Bearers Take Charge in Chitwan

The Chitwan convention produced a full slate of office bearers for the district committee. According to reports published by Rato Pati and News of Nepal, the newly formed district committee includes the following:

Elected Office Bearers

  • President: Milanbabu Shrestha
  • Vice-president: Deepak Adhikari
  • Secretary: Ghanshyam Poudel 'Shyam'
  • Members: Madhav Adhikari, Renu Pradhan, Sanjay Acharya, Govind Bahadur Gurung and Bishnubhakta

The district presidency is among the most influential positions in the Nepali Congress's organisational structure below the central level. District committees coordinate the party's activities across their territories, maintain links with ward- and local-level units, and mobilise cadres during elections and organisational campaigns. Chitwan, a politically significant district and home to Bharatpur, one of Nepal's largest cities, is a constituency where organisational strength carries considerable weight, and Shrestha now heads the party's apparatus there.

A Convention Ahead of the 15th General Convention

The Chitwan district convention forms part of the wider cycle of internal meetings that the Nepali Congress undertakes before its general convention, the party's supreme organisational event at which leadership is decided and policy direction is set. District conventions serve a dual purpose: they elect the committees that manage the party's day-to-day affairs at the local level, and they prepare the party's grassroots base for the national convention that follows.

With the 15th general convention on the horizon, district units across the party have been moving through the organisational steps that lead up to the national event. The completion of the Chitwan convention, and the election of a new district committee through it, represents the district's contribution to that process. As more district units finalise their committees, attention within the party gradually shifts toward the general convention itself, where leaders and delegates from across the country gather to chart the party's course.

Convention Organised Under the Deuba Faction's Banner

A defining aspect of the Chitwan convention is that it was organised by the faction aligned with Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Nepali Congress president. Factional organising has long been a feature of internal life in the Nepali Congress, with rival panels frequently convening their own conventions and backing competing slates of office bearers at district and lower levels. The holding of the Chitwan convention under the Deuba faction's banner signals which panel currently holds the organisational initiative in the district at this stage of the party's internal cycle.

For the Deuba faction, securing the leadership of district committees carries importance well beyond local politics. District committees sit at the base of the party's delegate and mobilisation structures, and their alignment can shape the balance of influence inside the party as a general convention approaches. The election of Shrestha and his team therefore stands as a marker of the faction's organisational position in Chitwan heading into the convention season.

Next Steps for the New Committee

With its new committee in place, the Nepali Congress in Chitwan now has a complete leadership structure to carry its work forward. The incoming office bearers take on the task of consolidating the party's presence at the grassroots, coordinating activity across the district, and preparing the unit's participation in the party's national proceedings as the 15th general convention approaches.

For Shrestha, the immediate challenge will be to convert his election into organisational strength: keeping the district's party structures active, working alongside his vice-president, secretary and committee members, and ensuring that Chitwan's voice is heard within the party during the convention period. The election of an entire slate, from president to members, provides the district unit with a unified team from the outset, and how effectively that team functions will shape the party's footing in the district in the period ahead. The convention results were reported by Rato Pati and News of Nepal.