Just a day after the conclusion of the national convention of the main opposition party CPN-UML, the National Congress of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which has been termed as unity Congress, has kicked off here today.

The national congress is being held for the first time following the merger of three different parties with the same name, RPP, but led by different leaders- Kamap Thapa, Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani and Pashupati Shamsher Rana.

Rajendra Lingden, general secretary of the RPP, informed that the national congress of the RPP has commenced at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu.

RPP Chair Kamal Thapa has announced his candidacy for the unified party's chairmanship whereas general secretary Lingden has also vowed to contest for the same top post.

Lingden has been backed by another RPP Chair Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani while the yet other RPP Chairman Pashupati Shamsher Rana has stayed neutral and voiced for selecting the chairman through consensus.

Thapa has been backed by RPP leaders such as Buddhiman Tamang, Uddav Paudel, Deepak Bohara, Dhruba Pradhan, Roshan Karki and Bhuvan Pathak.

Nearly 4,400 representatives from across the country will elect a 147-member central executive committee of the party in the three-day Congress that started today.