Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has entrusted vice president Purna Bahadur Khadka with the responsibilities of acting party president, citing his health reasons.

Deuba made the announcement during Tuesday’s meeting of the Central Working Committee, which he chaired himself.

“I have assigned party Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka to work as the acting president of the party,” Deuba made the announcement reading out a written speech at the meeting. “I have a belief that he will work for the larger interest of the party.”

Soon after assigning the role to Khadka, the meeting was adjourned and rescheduled for 1 pm on Thursday.

Deuba, who was first elected party president in March 2016 and reelected in December 2021, has led the Nepali Congress through a period marked by internal rifts and debates over the timing of the upcoming general convention.

He succeeded Sushil Koirala as party chief in 2016, marking the first leadership transition outside the Koirala family in two decades.