Maharaj Gurung has been appointed chair of the National Youth Association Nepal, the youth wing affiliated with Nepal’s ruling CPN-UML. The decision was made at a meeting of the Central Youth Council held on Friday.
Gurung succeeds outgoing chair Kshitij Thebe, who stepped down after being elected as a member of the party’s central committee. The leadership transition followed the party’s organizational rule requiring officials elected to higher committees to vacate positions held at lower levels.
Thebe had been re-elected as chair at the association’s last general convention and is also a candidate for the House of Representatives from Taplejung district. Prior to his appointment, Gurung served as vice-chair of the association and had been re-elected to that position.
A resident of Dolakha district, Gurung began his political career with the student organization ANNFSU before becoming active in the youth movement. He later joined the National Youth Association Nepal as a district committee member and subsequently served as district vice-chair and chair.
Gurung has said that during his tenure at the district level, his organization ranked among the strongest performers nationwide at a time when Nepal had 75 districts. He was later elected as a member of the CPN-UML Dolakha district committee and went on to hold several senior roles within the youth association, including central committee member, Bagmati Province in-charge, and central secretary.
At the association’s general convention held in Nepalgunj, Gurung was elected vice-chair and later served as head of the organization department.
