KATHMANDU, April 2:  The CPN-UML and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) have officially announced their respective candidates for the by-elections being held in three constituencies on April 23.

Organizing a program at the party office in Maharajganj, the RSP announced that the party president Rabi Lamichhane will contest the by-election from Chitwan 2, Dr Swarnim Wagle from Tanahun-1 and Ramesh Kharel from Bara-2.

Renowned economist Dr Wagle and former Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police Ramesh Kharel joined the RSP only days ago. While Dr Wagle was with the Nepali Congress (NC), Kharel had formed his own party called Hamro Sushashan Party to contest the parliamentary election.

RSP President Lamichhane was elected as a member of the House of Representatives (HoR) from Chitwan-2 in last November's elections. But after the Supreme Court annulled his position over citizenship related cases, a by-election is to be held in Chitwan-2 on April 23.

Similarly, by-election is being held in Tanahu-1 after Ram Chandra Poudel, who was elected from the constituency, was recently elected as the country’s president. RSP has decided to field the candidacy of Dr Wagle in the constituency after the former vice chair of the National Planning Commission decided to quit the NC and take membership of RSP on Friday.

The by-election is being held in Bara-2 after Ram Shahaya Yadav, who was elected from the constituency, was recently elected as the vice president of the country. RSP has decided to field the candidacy of Kharel in the constituency.

Kharel contested the parliamentary election in Kathmandu-1 from Hamro Sushashan Party in the election held in November last year. Kharel has now changed his party to contest the by-elections from RSP in Bara 2.

Similarly, CPN-UML has decided to field Ram Prasad Neupane in Chitwan-2 and Sarbendra Khanal in Tanahun 1. A secretariat meeting of the party held on Saturday took a decision to this effect.

Senior UML leaders said that the name of the party's by-election candidate in Bara-2 will be finalized on Sunday. The UML’s Bara District Committee has recommended the names of politburo member and former minister Purushottam Paudel, state committee member Rajesh Sah and Bandana Singh.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress (NC) earlier decided to field the candidacy of Govinda Bhattarai in Tanahun-1.

A Central Work Performance Committee meeting held at the party's central office in Sanepa on Thursday had decided to make Bhattarai a candidate for the by-poll being held in Tanahun-1.

 
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• by-elections