KATHMANDU: The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) and Samajwadi Party have formed an electoral alliance for the National Assembly (NA) elections.

As per the agreement reached between the parties on Friday, NC will field candidates for 16 seats while Samajwadi will contest for two seats.

Out of four seats in Province-2, Samajwadi will file candidacies for two seats and NC in the remaining.

Earlier, the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Rastriya Janata Party had formed a similar alliance for the polls.

The election for the vacant seats in NA, the upper house of the federal parliament, is slated to be held on January 23.

The term of 19 members or one-third members of the 59-member upper house is terminating from March 3, 2020.

Of this many National Assembly members, 18 would be chosen through election while the remaining one member would be nominated by the President on the recommendation of the government.

This election will elect seven women members, two members from the Dalit communities, two members from the minority communities and seven members from others.

An electoral college comprising the State Assembly members, the chairs and vice-chairs of the Rural Municipality and the mayor and deputy mayor of Municipality will elect the members to the National Assembly.