Bed Bahadur Shrestha Announces Candidacy for FNCCI Bagmati Province Presidency

Hetauda. Bed Bahadur Shrestha has announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Bagmati Province, with elections scheduled for Chait 24. Shrestha made the announcement during a press conference held in Hetauda on Monday morning.

Shrestha, who announced his candidacy alongside his panel, also unveiled a 9-point commitment. With the main slogan of 'Transparent and Accountable Leadership,' Shrestha's team has put forward various plans for the rights and welfare of industrialists and businesspeople in Bagmati Province. The presidential candidate pledged that his team would remain active in ensuring a strong presence for the private sector and resolving its issues.

He has proposed an agenda to coordinate with all three levels of government to secure land and construct buildings for district and municipal chambers that currently lack their own facilities, and has announced plans to manage land for the construction of a well-equipped secretariat building for the FNCCI Bagmati Province.

His commitments include initiating amendments to make the 'Provincial Business Act 2076' more business-friendly, maintaining continuous coordination with the central leadership of the federation to resolve issues faced by entrepreneurs, and taking special initiatives for modern agricultural systems and technology. He also aims to prioritize agriculture, tourism, hydropower, and trade as key concerns for the private sector in collaboration with the provincial government, and to coordinate with all three levels of government to market products from women entrepreneurs through the 'Women in Business, First in Bagmati Province' campaign.

His commitments further state that he will establish the federation as an inclusive, transparent, and institutionally governed organization, draw the government's attention to resolving import-export issues at the Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani border points, and take special initiatives to address problems related to double taxation, weights and measures, under-billing, and mismatches. He also pledged to remain active at all times in resolving the problems of industrialists and businesspeople by coordinating with district, municipal, associate, and commodity associations.

Shrestha's panel includes Krishna Kumar Gupta as District/Municipal Vice President, Krishna Bhakta Shrestha as Associate Vice President, and Rajkumar Dahal as Commodity Vice President. Rudra Bahadur Khatri is the candidate for Treasurer, while Krishna Murari Neupane, Jayaprakash Shrestha, Vishnu Khanal, Rajkumar Kandel, and Rajan Karki are candidates for District/Municipal members.

Uttam Sharma Dhakal and Navindradev Singh are candidates for Associate members, while Jyotiratna Bajracharya is the candidate for a Commodity member. Associate Vice President candidate Shrestha, Commodity member Jyotiratna Bajracharya, and Sadis Shrestha have already been elected unopposed.