NC heavyweights get unanimous nod for HoR race

KATHMANDU, Dec 10: Top Nepali Congress (NC) leaders have been unanimously recommended as candidates from their respective constituencies for the upcoming House of Representatives (HoR) election scheduled for March 5. Following the decision and directive of the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC), regional committees on Tuesday recommended leaders’ names for candidacy.

For the direct, or the first-past-the-post, election, NC Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka has been unanimously recommended from Surkhet Constituency 1. He was also elected as a member of the HoR from the same constituency in the previous election. Similarly, leader Dr Shekhar Koirala has been solely recommended from Morang Constituency 6—the constituency from which he was previously elected.

General Secretaries Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma have also been recommended unopposed in the direct category. Sharma has been recommended from Jhapa Constituency 1, while Thapa has been recommended from Rolpa and Dhankuta. Along with Thapa, the names of Lumbini Province President Amar Singh Pun, Mahasamiti member Manojmani Acharya, Mandip Subedi, and Gyan Bahadur Oli have also been recommended from Rolpa.

Similarly, former Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba has been recommended from Kailali Constituency 5. Rana was previously a member of the HoR under the proportional representation (PR) system. Alongside Rana, the regional committee has also recommended Dilliraj Pant, Narnarayan Shah, and Nripa Bahadur Odd. Former party Vice President Bimalendra Nidhi has been recommended from Dhanusha Constituency 3.

Ramesh Rijal, a Central Committee member, has been unanimously recommended from Parsa Constituency 4, while Sandeep Rana has been unanimously recommended from Palpa Constituency 1. With factional disputes influencing candidate recommendations, some regional committees of the NC have become indecisive. In certain districts, leaders are engaged in internal discussions to reach consensus.

However, the NC regional committee has recommended six names, including former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, from Rupandehi Constituency 3. Other candidates include Sushil Gurung, Ramesh Khanal, Ram Chandra Dhakal, Bimal Dhakal, and Govinda Bahadur Khatri for the direct category.

For the proportional representation category, Jannatun Nisha Dhuniya, Pushpa Tharuni, and Madhavi Sharma have been recommended, the committee said.

In its meeting held on December 1, the NC CWC instructed its lower bodies to recommend candidates for the HoR and National Assembly elections. As per the CWC’s directive, lower committees must recommend names to the district by Tuesday, and districts must forward their recommendations to the provincial committees, along with their suggestions, by 11 December.

According to party statutes—Articles 30, 33(2), and 69—lower bodies have been instructed to recommend up to three names, including at least one woman, for the direct system, and up to two names, including at least one woman, for the proportional system, ensuring inclusiveness. The party had circulated a 10-point guideline for candidate recommendations at the lower level.