ILLAM, April 7: A total of 20 candidates have registered their nominations for the by-elections of Ilam Constituency-2 to be held on April 27.
According to the election schedule, various parties and independent candidates along with Panche baja (set of five traditional Nepali musical instruments) and march reached the office of the Chief Electoral Officer and registered their candidature.
CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have chosen 32-year-old Suhang Nembang of UML as a common candidate. Suhang has also been supported by the Nepal Communist Party.
Dambar Bahadur Khadka was nominated from Nepali Congress. He was defeated against UML candidate Subash Chandra Nembang from this area in the 2079BS election.
Parties bogged down in internal disputes over poll candidates
UML central leaders Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe, Hikmat Karki, Ram Bahadur Rana, district chairman and MP Mahesh Basnet and others participated in the registration of Suhang's nomination. The party's district undersecretary Rabindra Subedi is the proponent of Suhang while the Maoist central member Dhirendra Sharma Raman is the supporter.
UML candidate Suhang expressed confidence in his victory, stating, "Under the prevailing circumstances, winning is now within reach for me."
Nepali Congress candidate and District President Khadka also expressed optimism, claiming that victory would be in his favor, citing his narrow defeat in the previous election.
"In many current candidates, I am the senior one, and despite sharing joys and sorrows with all citizens, voters still show love towards me," he said. "Even in the last election, there was a wave of support for me." His candidacy was registered with the participation of central leader Min Bahadur Bishwokarma, Uddhav Thapaliya, among others.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has fielded Milan Limbu as its candidate. RSP Central Vice Chairman and Labor Minister BP Aryal also participated in the registration of the candidacy of Milan, who turned to politics from the field of journalism. Candidate Limbu claimed that voters who are fed up with the actions of other parties will now choose him.
Dakendra Singh Thegim has registered as an independent candidate on behalf of Pahichan Pakchyadhar party i.e. those supporting identity politics. Prem Bahadur Limbu of Janamat Party, Shyam Bahadur Darji of Nepal Workers Peasants Party (NWPP), Mani Bahadur Limbu of Mongol National Organization, Dhanraj Ranamgar of National Republic of Nepal, Laxmi Gurung of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Jit Bahadur Rai of Nepal Communist Party Samajwadi have become candidates. Former Prime Minister Jhalnath Khanal also participated in registering Rai's candidacy.
Jayawanta Bikram Shah of Rastriya Mukti Andolan Nepal, Ganesh Bahadur Chauhan of RPP Nepal, Resham Bahadur Sunar Nepali of Nepali Janata Dal registered their candidature.
Dak Prasad Gautam, Manoj Niraula, Arjun Kumar Sahi, Keshab Kumar Chapagain, Dipesh Bohora, Yogendra Gurung and Raj Basyal have filed their candidatures as independent candidates, according to the election officer's office.
According to the election schedule, publication of the final list and distribution of election symbols to the candidates has been scheduled for April 9.
The campaign period will run from April 10 to April 24 and the voting time has been fixed on April 27 from 7 am to 5 pm.
