Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Ramhari Khatiwada, Ajay Babu Shiwakoti and Pratima Gautam have been elected joint general secretaries of the Nepali Congress (NC).
Khatiwada and Shiwakoti won under the open category, while Gautam was elected under the women’s category.
Khatiwada secured 2,910 votes and Shiwakoti 2,173 votes in the election for two positions under the open category. Both maintained their lead from the beginning of the vote count.
Nine candidates were in the running for the position. Other candidates included Dilliram Subedi, who received 1,852 votes, Devendra Raj Kandel (1,381), Rajiv Dhungana (1,232), Bikash Koirala (1,144), Amrit Kumar Aryal (921), Ramesh Prasad Dhamala (780) and Bimal Raj Chhetri (283).
In the women’s category, Gautam won with 5,116 votes. She defeated her only contender, Nanu Maiya Bastola, who received 1,554 votes.
Khatiwada, who hails from Okhaldhunga, had recently been aligned with the party establishment. He did not participate in the special general convention held in January.
Shiwakoti, on the other hand, was elected a Central Working Committee member at the party’s 14th general convention and also served as a Central Working Committee member following the party’s special general convention. He is considered close to party president Gagan Kumar Thapa.
