KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress President Gagan Thapa, elected through the party’s second special general convention, has begun rapidly distributing tickets for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5.
After receiving official recognition as party President from the Election Commission, Thapa moved swiftly to finalize candidates ahead of Tuesday’s nomination deadline. He has started by allocating tickets in Himalayan and high hill districts.
Previously, tickets for proportional representation and the National Assembly were signed by former President Sher Bahadur Deuba. However, for direct House of Representatives candidates, Thapa himself has been signing and issuing the tickets.
On Monday night, Thapa held discussions with leaders from the Deuba and Shekhar Koirala factions to finalize candidates. Following the three-way talks, he began distributing tickets and is expected to complete allocations for many constituencies by late Monday night. He has also indicated that candidates from groups that lost official party recognition will be accommodated.
Where tickets have been distributed
Achham-1: Former district President Bharat Kumar Swar(Competing against NCP leader Bhim Rawal and CPN-UML’s Dipak Saud Tarang)
Achham-2: District President Pushpa Bahadur Shah(Facing Bhupdev Shah, an aide to Balen Shah)
Bajura: Janak Giri previously defeated UML’s Karna Thapa in 2056 BS and served as assistant minister for land reform. He is now a central committee member elected from the special convention. He will contest against UML’s Lal Bahadur Thapa and NCP’s Prakash Shah.
Pyuthan: Dr. Govinda Raj Pokharel, a close aide of Dr. Shekhar Koirala, is an economist and former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission. He will face UML’s Surya Bahadur Thapa Chhetri.
Salyan: District President Kesh Bahadur Bista
Bhojpur: Balkrishna Thapa, recently aligned with Thapa’s faction from the Shekhar group, he will compete against UML’s Sherdhan Rai, NCP’s Ajambar Kangmang Rai, and Shram Sanskriti Party’s Dhruva Raj Rai.
Rukum East: Kusum Thapa Magar, the incumbent lawmaker, elected under the proportional representation system in 2079 BS, will contest against Nepali Communist Party (NCP) coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
With nominations set for Tuesday, the Nepali Congress has accelerated its candidate selection process as the election date approaches.
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