Himal Press 
Radha Krishna Kandel
LUMBINI: Radha Krishna Kandel has been elected as the Chairman of the Lumbini Province Committee of CPN-UML.
Kandel defeated Hari Rijal, who had been leading from the beginning of the vote count, by a margin of two votes. Kandel received 479 votes, while Rijal secured 477 votes.
Kandel is associated with UML Vice Chairman Bishnu Prasad Poudel, while Rijal is a close aide of General Secretary Shankar Pokharel. The first general convention of the Lumbini Province Committee was viewed as a battle for supremacy between Vice Chairman Poudel and General Secretary Pokharel. Poudel has emerged victorious as most of the office-bearers in the new executive committee are close to him.
Along with the Secretary, eight out of the 12 members representing districts were elected unopposed. Elections were conducted for four out of the five positions of office-bearers.
Bhoj Prasad Shrestha has been elected as the Vice Chairman with 455 votes. Similarly, Purna Budha Magar has been elected as Deputy Secretary, securing 418 votes. Likewise, Lila Rana Magar has been elected as Deputy Secretary (Female) with 352 votes, defeating Basanti Adhikari by just one vote.
Additionally, Damodar Ghimire has been elected as the Chairman of Accounts. Out of the 1,050 representatives, 965 cast their votes.
Except for Deputy Secretary Purna Bahadur Budha, all the office-bearers belong to Kandel’s panel.
