Chandra Kanta Bhandari has maintained a commanding lead in the open-category vice-president race at the Nepali Congress’s 15th general convention.
Of the total 7,043 votes cast, 3,435 have been counted so far. Bhandari has secured 1,686 votes, putting him 596 votes ahead of Madhu Acharya, who is in second place. Acharya has received 1,090 votes.
Surendra Raj Pandey is in third place with 955 votes, trailing Acharya by 135 votes.
Govinda Bhattarai, who is in fourth place, has received 941 votes. The gap between Pandey and Bhattarai is just 14 votes.
Meanwhile, Dhanraj Gurung has received 719 votes, Deepak Giri 497, and Chandra Mohan Yadav 299 votes.
Two candidates will be elected vice-presidents from the open category.
Based on the votes counted so far, Bhandari is in first place and Acharya is second. However, the contest for the second position appears to be closely contested among Acharya, Pandey, and Bhattarai.