KATHMANDU, Jan 21: Six candidates from the sexual minority have registered their candidacies for the upcoming March 5 election to the House of Representatives (HoR). They are representing the Samabeshi Samajbadi Party.
The deadline for registering nominations for the upcoming election under the first-past-the-post system was set on Tuesday.
Surendra Pandey filed his candidacy from Kathmandu Constituency no 1 on behalf of the Samabeshi Samajwadi Party.
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He reached the Office of the Chief Election Officer at Baneshwor and registered his candidacy with a 50 percent discount on the candidacy registration fee. However, he had to present his marriage registration certificate for making clean on his identity.
Pandey, who hails from Kawasoti municipality-8, Nawalparashi Purba district, had wedded with Ram Bahadur Gurung (Maya) of Dordi rural municipality-2, Lamjung district, two years ago and had become South Asia's first couple from a sexual minority to legally register their marriage.
Pandey, who has been continuously campaigning for the rights of sexual and gender minorities, said that he did not see any other alternative but politics to bring about transformation. "Having the courage to run for the election in a society full of challenges itself is a victory. Now I have to win the hearts of people and deliver by doing different kinds of work," he mentioned.
Five other candidates contesting the upcoming election are Surendra from Kathmandu constituency-1, Devendra Bahadur Khatri (Madhu) from Rupandehi constituency-2, and Numa Limbu from Morang constituency-4.
Pinky Rai has been nominated from Okhaldungha, and Binod Lama (Konika) from Kavrepalanchok constituency-1.
Earlier, in the first Constituent Assembly election in 2064 BS, CPN (United) had made Sunil Babu Panta a member of parliament under the proportional representation category.
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