KATHMANDU: The Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry has elected its first female president in its 72-year history.
Shobha Gautam, the outgoing general secretary, secured the top position during the chamber’s 36th general convention held on Monday evening.
Gautam defeated three male candidates to win the presidency. Out of 2,279 total votes cast, she secured 751 votes. Her closest competitors, Arjun Pokharel, Uttamman Buddhacharya, and Balram Acharya, received 637, 601, and 253 votes respectively. The election committee stated that 12 votes were declared invalid.
Dinesh Chandra Bastola was elected as the senior vice president, receiving 1,481 votes against Tikaram Subedi’s 760. Saugat Thapa won the vice president (industry) post with 1,271 votes, defeating Lalit Bahadur Kunwar, who received 973. Manoj Kumar Shrestha was elected vice president (commerce) with 1,065 votes, surpassing Bhim Gautam by 146 votes.
Sudip Pradhananga was elected general secretary with 1,202 votes, defeating Taranath Dhungana, who secured 1,042 votes. Devendra Praju won the treasurer position with 1,439 votes, while his opponent Jeevan Prakash Shrestha received 775. Pradip Rajbhandari was elected deputy general secretary with 1,153 votes.
Ten open members were also elected, including Durga Baral, Amrit Pokharel, Nirmala Chapagain, Govinda Bahadur KC, Rameshwor Adhikari, Manohari Poudel, Bhanubhakta Adhikari, Dilip Kumar Shrestha, Ram Prasad Kandel, and Kamal Bahadur Sunar. Previously, four members representing product categories and one industry member were elected unopposed.
