K P Sharma Oli elected chairman of Nepal's CPN-UML party

KATHMANDU: Nepal's CPN-UML has elected K P Sharma Oli as the chairman of the country's largest communist party, at its 9th general convention here.

Oli defeated his rival Madhav Kumar Nepal, a former prime minister and senior leader of the party by a margin of 44 votes.

Ishwor Pokharel has been elected general secretary of the party. He defeated former finance minister and senior leader Surendra Pandey.

However, Oli and Nepal both got seven members each elected during the voting.

The party will form a 149-member Central Committee with both elected and nominated members and executive office bearers.

CPN-UML secured second position in the last year's Constituent Assembly election behind Nepali Congress, pushing the Unified CPN-Maoist to the third position.

CPN-UML was the third largest party during the first Constituent Assembly elections held four years ago.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah have also congratulated Oli.

Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who is currently undergoing medical treatment in the US, also telephoned Oli to congratulate him.