KATHMANDU: With the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, dozens of leaders from the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML appear set to be pushed out of parliamentary politics.
While some leaders are stepping aside due to age and others after failing to secure party tickets, a few have chosen to voluntarily end their parliamentary careers. At the same time, pressure generated by the Gen-Z-led protests of September 8–9, particularly the demand for generational change in politics, has also affected internal party dynamics, forcing several senior leaders toward the margins.
The emergence of new political forces and a shifting national power balance following the Gen-Z movement has further weakened established leaderships, making it difficult for many to remain relevant in parliamentary politics.
Dozens sidelined in Nepali Congress
A significant number of Nepali Congress leaders are being pushed out of parliamentary contention ahead of the March 5 election. Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana Deuba, long influential within the party, failed to secure tickets this time.
Deuba, who had been continuously elected from Dadeldhura since the 2046 political change and served three terms as party president, lost influence after the Gagan Thapa-led faction took control through a special general convention.
Arzu Rana Deuba, who had exercised political influence alongside her husband, also failed to obtain a ticket.
Former vice-presidents Gopal Man Shrestha and Purna Bahadur Khadka, who were long part of the party’s power structure, are also out of the parliamentary race. The rise of Gagan Thapa has had a direct impact on ticket distribution in Kathmandu, where Prakash Man Singh, once dominant in securing Valley seats, was himself denied a ticket.
The influence of so-called “nepo babies” within the Congress has also waned. Dr Shashank Koirala, who had won four elections riding on the legacy of BP Koirala, was deemed unfit for a ticket this time, reportedly following objections from party cadres in Nawalparasi.
In Madhesh Province, while Bimalendra Nidhi managed to secure his ticket, several prominent leaders were sidelined. Former vice-president Dhanraj Gurung, former joint general secretary Shashank Koirala, former home minister Ramesh Lekhak, Mohan Bahadur Basnet, Ramhari Khatiwada, Hridayram Thani, Bal Bahadur KC, Badri Pandey, Jivan Pariyar, among many others, are out of the race.
Congress leader Sujata Koirala also faced disappointment. Kundan Kafle, who resigned as Bagmati Province’s finance minister in hopes of entering the federal parliament, failed to secure a ticket despite being considered close to Krishna Prasad Sitaula.
Oli sidelines rival faction in UML
CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli, himself a target of the Gen-Z movement, has reasserted control over the party and sidelined rival factions from the party convention through to ticket distribution for the parliamentary election.
Oli denied tickets to several leaders who had opposed or competed against him within the party, while others received tickets only after prolonged marginalization. Former vice-chairs Asta Laxmi Shakya and Yubaraj Gyawali were pushed out as early as the party’s general convention and did not even enter the ticket race.
Leaders such as former vice-chair Surendra Pandey, deputy general secretary Yogesh Bhattarai, and senior figures including Gokul Baskota, Jhapat Rawal, and Karn Thapa were denied tickets for pursuing politics independent of Oli.
Similarly, leaders including Bishnu Rijal, Yagya Raj Sunuwar, Bishal Bhattarai, and Niraj Acharya were also left out, as Oli effectively moved to edge dozens of leaders out of parliamentary politics.
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