The Nepal Weekly 
January 9, 2024
As many as 52 candidates have filed their nominations on Monday for the National Assembly election for the vacant positions of 19 NA members. Of them, 18 filed their nomination under the women category, five under the Dalit category, eight from disabled and marginalised community categories and 21 from other categories.
The tenure of 20 lawmakers in the 59-seat Upper House expire on March 3. While 19 seats will be filled through elections, one member will be nominated by the President at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
The candidates representing ruling alliance and the opposition parties have filed their candidacies in respective seven provincial offices of Election Officers to contest the election the National Assembly slated for January 25.
The Election Commission Nepal in its press statement on Monday informed that the nominations of candidates were held peacefully in all of its provincial offices. In Koshi Province, five candidates filed their nominations.
Rukmani Koirala of the CPN-UML and Champa Devi Karki of the CPN-Maoist Centre filed their candidacies under the women category. Parshu Ram Adhikair of the UML, Krishna Prasad Sitaula of the Nepali Congress (NC) and Uddav Paudel of Rastriya Prajatantra Party filed their nominations under other categories.
In Madhes Province also five candidates filed their nominations. They include Usha Devi Tharuni of the UML and Puja Choudhari of Janata Samajwadi Party, Nepal under the women category, and Kumari Bijeta Jha of UML, Ananda Prasad Dhungana of NC and Ram Shankar Mahaseth of Janamat Party under other category.
In Bagmati Province 15 candidates filed their nominations. Roch Kumari Chaulagai of UML, Bishnu Devi Pudasaini of NC, Bal Kumari Dallakoti of RPP and Krishna Laxmi Duwal of Nepal Majdur Kishan Party (NMKP) filed their candidacy under women category, while Dhurba Raj Bishwokarma of UML, Ghanashyam Rijal of Maoist Centre and Sangita Nepali of NMKP filed candidacy under Dalit category.
Bibek Devkota of UML, Shreekrishna Prasad Adhikari of Maoist Centre and Himaldhar Lal Mul of NMKP filled candidacy under the disabled persons and minority community category. Trilochan Nirmal Paudel of UML, Jeet Jung Basnet of NC, Hem Jung Gurung of RPP and Shreekrishna Maharjan of NMKP filed the candidacy under other category.
In Gandaki Province eight candidates are in the fray. Samjhana Devkota of UML, Manrupa Sharma of Maoist Centre and Goumaya Shrestha of RPP filed their candidacy under the women category while Hemdra Sherchan of UML and Padam Bahadur Pariyar of NC filed candidacy under disabled person and minority community category. Chakra Bahadur Parajuli of UML, Kiran Babu Shrestha of NC and Rom Bahadur Bhandari of RPP filed their candidacy under the other category.
In Lumbini Province seven candidates filed their candidacies. Tulasa Kumari KC of UML, Bishnu Kumari Sapkota of NC and Bijaya Laxmi Singh of RPP filed candidacy under the women category. Jhapendra Bahadur Gharti Chhetri of UML, Jhakku Prasad Subedi of Maoist Centre, Niranjan Kumar Thapa and Bal Govinda Choudhari of Janamat Party filed their candidacy under the other category.
Similarly, six candidates including Bimala Kumari Shahi of UML and Sabitri Malla of CPN (Unified Socialist) filed their candidacy under the women category in Karnali Province. Hikmat B.K. of the UML and Bishnu Bahadur Bishwokarma of the Maoist Centre filed their candidacy under the Dalit category while Dilli Prasad Bhatta of UML and Krishna Bahadur Rokaya of NC filed their candidacy under other category in the Karnali.
Likewise, Sabitra Devi Ghimire of UML and Renu Chand of Maoist Centre under women category, Ram Chandra Joshi of UML and Narayan Dutta Bhatta of NC under disabled person and minority category, Ishwori Prasad Kharel of UML and Bal Dev Bohora of NC under other category filled their candidacy in Sudurpachhim Province. A total of six candidates filed nominations in Sudurpashchim.
Complaints against candidates can be registered on Tuesday, as per the NA electioncalendar, according to EC spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Paudel.
The final lists of the candidates will be published on Friday while the EC will distribute election symbols to the candidates on Saturday.
From the ruling alliance the Nepali Congress has filed nominations for 10 candidates, while the CPN-Maoist Centre has filed nominations for 6 candidates. Similarly, CPN-Unified Socialist has got 2 and Janata Samajwadi Party has got one seats as per their agreement. The CPN-UML has filed nominations for all 19 seats while RPP has filed nominations for nine seats. Both the CPN-UML and RPP are contesting the NA elections in their own. The ruling alliances is sure to win all the 19 seats of their voters remained intact.
