In a closely contested internal election, Bipin Acharya has been elected general secretary of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), securing 673 votes at the party’s first general convention in Bharatpur, Chitwan.

He defeated outgoing party spokesperson Manish Jha, who received 346 votes. Ganesh Karki polled 169 votes, while Sagar Dhakal secured 139 votes. After the counting concluded, Jha publicly congratulated Acharya even before the official announcement by the election committee. Voting was conducted through electronic voting machines at the venue, along with ballots from the party’s diaspora wing.

In another key contest, Sobita Gautam was elected deputy vice-chair, defeating Toshima Karki in a high-profile race.

Gautam, who serves as Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, secured 789 votes against Karki’s 572. She previously worked in the party’s central secretariat.

She will join Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, who was elected unopposed to the other vice-chair position.

In the race for joint general secretary, Nisha Dangi won the reserved women’s seat with 737 votes, defeating Juli Yadav, Jamuna Sharma, Kamini Kumari Chaudhary and Rima Bishwokarma. Nisha Dangi previously served as a central committee member from Koshi Province.

For the two open seats, Asim Shah and Hari Dhakal were elected from an 11-candidate field, securing 471 and 410 votes, respectively. Both previously served in the party’s central secretariat. Asim Shah also serves as political advisor to Prime Minister Balendra Shah and coordinates the party’s constitution amendment task force.

Other candidates in the race included Sulav Kharel (391), Pukar Bam (334), Achyut Mani Neupane (300), Ramesh Prasai (301), Ashok Kumar Chaudhary (179), Milan Limbu (151), Rajeev Khatri (148), Bijay Jairu (114) and Himesh Panta (53).

The final results for the 99-member Central Working Committee marked a milestone in gender representation, with 49 women elected. This brings female representation in the core committee to 49.49 per cent.

Under the party statute, Bagmati Province elected an all-female slate of five members. Koshi, Madhesh, Lumbini and Karnali each elected four women, while Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces elected two women and three men each.

The party’s central body will eventually expand to include the chairperson, 99 elected members, 51 members nominated by the chair, and the chairs of seven provincial committees.