Ranjit Karna files for Nepali Congress Vice President, proposes ‘political engineering’

KATHMANDU: Ranjit Karna, a former Constituent Assembly member and influential leader of the Nepali Congress, has filed his candidacy for Vice President at the party’s 15th General Convention. Karna is advocating for what he terms “political engineering” to reform the party and to connect the ideology of its founder, BP Koirala, with new generations.Karna registered his candidacy from the inclusive group on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the Rastriya Sabhagriha in Kathmandu, where the nomination process for new leadership began. He presented a far-reaching agenda focused on organizational transformation, ideological clarity, and strengthening the party’s connection with citizens. His vision includes making the party robust and dynamic from the central to the ward level, empowering cadres with rights and responsibilities, and ensuring new generations are partners in leadership.A professional engineer, Karna argues that a disconnect between political rhetoric and action has eroded public trust. He believes “political engineering” is essential to guide the Nepali Congress transparently, systematically, and structurally, much like technical work is measured and regulated. He emphasized the need to revive the party’s organization, empower its workers, integrate new generations into leadership, and re-establish the Nepali Congress as a focal point of public trust.Karna highlighted his past experience as the former central president of the Nepal Student Union (Nepal Bidhyarthi Sangh – NSU), the student wing of the Nepali Congress, where he organized a successful general convention after a 20-year hiatus and implemented e-voting technology. He also mentioned his role in developing the party’s first ‘Youth Policy’ while at the Nepali Congress Policy Research Institute. He appealed to convention delegates to evaluate leaders based on their integrity and past contributions.Addressing the party’s membership, Karna noted that despite having approximately 1 million active members (with other sources citing over 925,000 or over 969,000), the party’s electoral performance does not reflect this number. He stressed the importance of developing ideologically trained cadres over simply distributing memberships without standards, discipline, or training. Karna also called for reinterpreting and modifying BP Koirala’s principles to align with modern technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), and the new era. He stated that the Nepali Congress’s current political competition extends beyond traditional communist parties to include new forces advocating for good governance.The 15th General Convention, which commenced on October 4, 2026, at Khulamanch in Kathmandu, is being attended by 7,114 delegates. The convention aims to validate the legitimacy of the current Gagan Thapa-led executive committee, which emerged from a special general convention.The Nepali Congress has significantly expanded its central working committee from 167 to 297 members and increased the number of office bearers from 14 to 26. These new positions include one Senior Vice President, four Vice Presidents (with at least one woman), three General Secretaries (with at least one woman), and eleven Joint General Secretaries (two open, one woman, and others from inclusive groups). A spokesperson position has also been added. The convention emphasizes ensuring representation for youth under 35, women, and various communities, with 21 youth members to be elected to the central working committee. Eighteen-year-old Abhipsa Poudel has also filed her candidacy for a central member position, reflecting enthusiastic participation from the younger generation.In addition to Ranjit Karna, other prominent leaders who have filed candidacies for Vice President include Binod Chaudhary, a central member and entrepreneur, from the inclusive group (Madhesi cluster), and Dr. Minendra Rijal. For discussions on reports during the closed session, three halls have been designated: Himal, Pahad, and Tarai-Madhesh, reflecting regional diversity.The 15th General Convention was initially scheduled for October 2, 2026, but was postponed by two days to October 4, 2026, due to heavy rainfall and delays in the regional and general convention delegate selection process. The closed session of the convention began on October 5, 2026, and continued through Tuesday, October 6, 2026.The deadline for withdrawing or correcting candidacies is set for Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 9 AM. The final list of candidates will be published on the same day at 10 AM. Wednesday, October 7, 2026, has been allocated for campaigning. Voting is scheduled for Thursday, October 8, 2026, from 7 AM to 5 PM, with vote counting to commence immediately thereafter.The convention also plans to amend the party’s statute, with a committee led by General Secretary Pradip Poudel working on the revisions. The amended statute was passed on Monday.The Nepali Congress’s 14th General Convention was held in November-December 2021 in Kathmandu, where Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected President, with 4,743 delegates participating.Several details remain unclear:While Ranjit Karna has filed his candidacy from the “inclusive group,” the specific sub-group he represents (e.g., Dalit, Indigenous Nationalities, Khas-Arya, Tharu, Muslim, backward region, minority/persons with disabilities) is not explicitly stated.The exact tenure of Karna’s presidency of the Nepal Student Union and the precise date of the ‘Youth Policy’ creation are also not specified in the available information.A complete list of all Vice Presidential candidates is not yet available.The final outcome of reports suggesting that the former President Sher Bahadur Deuba faction plans a separate general convention in December remains unclear.