Kathmandu, Nepal, March 3, 2023: With the end of nomination of candidates for the April 23 by-election in Chitwan-2, Tanahun-1 and Bara-2 on Monday, election fever hits up in the country. Political parties, regardless of winner or losers in the previous November 20 elections, have taken the by-election as a matter of self-image.
Three candidates- Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane, who had elected earlier from the same constituency, Nepali Congress (NC) leader Jeet Narayan Shrestha and UML district chairman Ram Prasad Neupane- have registered their candidacies for the by-election in Chitwan-2.
The constituency remained vacant after the Supreme Court (SC), the apex court of the country, suspended Lamichhane’s position as a member of House of Representatives (HoR) responding to the writ petitions that his candidacy registered by producing the illegal citizenship certificates was illegitimate. Following the SC’s verdict, he has already got new citizenship certificate through the due process.
NC candidate Shrestha's candidacy is backed by the ruling alliances including the CPN (Maoist Center), CPN United Socialist, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal and others. His candidacy was supported by CPN Maoist Centre leader Ram Chandra Adhikari and NC District Committee President Rajeshwar Khanal while registering the candidacy.
Elections in the constituency is taken meanfully from different sectors as Lamichhane had set the record for winning by the highest vote difference- 34,140 against NC candidate Umesh Shrestha in the November 20 elections. Shrestha had secured just 15,091 votes while UML’s Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel had got just 14,649 votes.
Similarly, Eight candidates including Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Chairman Upendra Yadav filed his candidacy for the by-election in the backing of the Nepali Congress, the CPN (Maoist Center), the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party and the Unified Socialist Party of Nepal.
Purushottam Paudel from CPN-UML, Shiva Chandra Kushwaha from Janamat Party and Ramesh Kharel from Rastriya Swatantra Party have also registered their nomination. Candidates belonging to the Hamro Nepali Party and Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party and two independents candidates have also filed their nomination.
The constituency remained vacant after Ram Sahay Yadav elected in the post of vice-president. He was elected from the JSP by securing 13,822 votes in the November 20 elections. His closest rival Shiva Chandra Prasad Kushwaha of the Maoist Center had secured 13,468 votes. He has left the Maoist Center after the party decided to support Yadav. Kushwaha has now become the candidate from the newly emerged Janamat Party led by Dr. CK Raut.
Likewise, three candidates- Gobind Bhattarai from the NC, Swarnim Wagle from the RSP and Sarbendra Khanal from the UML have registered their candidacy for the by-elections to be held on Tanahun 1. Khanal was the candidate from the Kathmandu-6 in November elections on November 20. He was defeated by RSP’s candidate Shishir Khanal.
The constituency of Tanahun 1 remained vacant after Ramchandra Paudel elected in the post of president. Poudel was elected as the HoR member by securing 25,361 votes in the November 20 elections. UML’s candidate Ek Bahadur Rana Magar had got 19,981 votes. In the election, The NC’s rebel candidate Govinda Raj Joshi had secured 6,886 votes while the RSP and RPP had received 6,044 and 2,484 votes respectively.
The NC has lifted the suspension of general membership of Joshi and his associates with the aim to get their support in the upcoming by elections to make victorious to its candidate, Bhattrai. With the decision, all the rebel leaders and candidates have been restored in the previous position of the NC. However, Joshi has termed the party’s decision as meaningless. However, he has remained silent about his support in the upcoming elections.
