Shekhar Golchha, one of the candidates vying for the post of senior vice-president at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), filed his candidacy on Sunday at the office of the country’s largest private sector umbrella body.

Along with Golchha—who is currently FNCCI vice-president—his panel members, Dinesh Shrestha, Chandra Prasad Dhakal and Umesh Lal Pradhan, have also filed their candidacies. 

The three will compete for the posts of three vice presidents at the FNCCI, representing district chambers, associates group and commodities association.  Similarly, Gyanendra Lal Pradhan has filed his candidacy for the post of treasurer at the FNCCI from Golchha’s panel. 

“We will announce candidates for rest of the positions tomorrow,” Golchha said. “We will make public our election slogan and agendas on Tuesday. But since I am vying for the position of senior vice-president, my main focus will be on making the tenure of our upcoming president successful.” These candidacies were filed as less than two weeks are left for the FNCCI’s election. 

However, Golchha’s contender, Kishore Pradhan, is yet to file his candidacy for the post of senior vice-president. Pradhan has already announced Pramod Shrestha and Shanker Pandey as candidates for the posts of two vice-presidents representing district chambers and commodities association. Since Monday is the last day to file candidacies, he is expected to do so within the deadline.

The FNCCI’s special general meeting held in October 2016 enabled automatic elevation of the senior vice-president of the FNCCI to the post of president without taking part in the election. This is the reason why all eyes are now on election for the post of senior vice-president at the FNCCI which is being held on April 10. 

Bhawani Rana, the current senior vice-president of the FNCCI, will become the next president of the FNCCI in mid-April. The candidate who wins the senior vice-president election this time will secure the top post of the FNCCI after Rana’s tenure ends.