HoR elections: 18 women candidates in the fray in Sudurpashchim Province

MAHENDRANAGAR: A total of 18 female candidates, including two independents, are contesting the upcoming House of Representatives elections from Sudurpashchim Province.

The province has 16 electoral constituencies spread across its nine districts. While women’s participation remains low in the seven hilly districts, female candidacy is notably higher in the Terai districts of Kailali and Kanchanpur.

According to Dilip Bhat, spokesperson of the Provincial Election Office, Kailali has the highest number of female candidates with 11, followed by Kanchanpur, while Doti has only one woman candidate. Out of 210 total candidates in the province, one candidacy has been cancelled and three others have been withdrawn.

In Kanchanpur Constituency No. 1, female candidates include Bina Magar (Nepali Communist Party), Sita BK (Aam Janata Party), and independents Manjudevi Sunar and Rupadevi Bista. In Constituency No. 2, Premwati Rana from the Nagarik Unmukti Party Nepal is contesting, while Lakshmi Kumari Bista (Bhatta) of the Janata Party is in the fray from Constituency No. 3.

In Kailali Constituency No. 1, Rupakumari Chaudhary (Janata Party), Komal Gyawali (Rastriya Swatantra Party), and Sunita Bhandari (Nepal Workers and Peasants Party) are contesting. Constituency No. 2 features Samjhana Bista Thapa (Miteri Party Nepal) and Laxmi Pun Magar (Nepal Workers and Peasants Party), while Kailali Constituency No. 3 sees Sushila Thapa Magar (Miteri Party Nepal) and Junu Mahtara Shahi (Nepal Workers and Peasants Party) campaigning as candidates.

In Constituency No. 4, Amrita Bhul of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party is contesting, while Constituency No. 5 includes Radhika Kumari Karki (Miteri Party Nepal), Shobhamani Joshi (National People’s Front), and Trishna Punmagar (Nepal Workers and Peasants Party).

Doti, one of the province’s hilly districts, has only one female candidate—Saraswati Kumari Pal (Malla) of Miteri Party Nepal.

The Provincial Election Office reports that Sudurpashchim Province has a total of 1,716,660 registered voters.