By Our Reporter
A total of 52 candidates filed their nominations on Monday for the election of 19 National Assembly members from seven provinces.
The NA election is scheduled for January 25. The ruling six parties have forged an alliance while the CPN-UML is contesting the election alone. Likewise, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party has also fielded its candidates.
Of the 52 candidates, 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.
Among the seven provinces, the largest number of candidates are contesting the election in Bagmati. A total of 15 candidates have filed their nominations in Bagmati.
Likewise, eight candidates are in the fray in Gandaki seven in Lumbini and six each in Karnali and Sudupashchim Provinces are contesting the election. In Koshi and Madhes five candidates each are contesting the poll.
However, for the political parties, the National Assembly has emerged to dump the people-rejected and unpopular leaders as well as those having close relations with the party leadership.
Krishna Prasad Sitaula of the NC who lost the House of Representatives election to Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chair Rajendra Lingden in Jhapa in 2022 and 2017 was picked by NC. His nomination drew public criticism claiming that after being rejected by voters, Sitaula was trying to become a member of the Upper House.
In the Nepali Congress, factional disputes surfaced while picking the candidates. As Deuba refused to give four of the 10 seats got by the NC to Shekhar Koirala-led camp, the party could decide its candidates only on Monday morning. Still, both general secretaries—Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishhwo Prakash Sharma objected to the decision.
Of the 19 seats, the ruling parties divided the seats among them, according to which NC got 10 seats, Maoist Centre six, CPN (Unified Socialist) two and Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal-1. Although the term of 20 NA members is expiring in March this year, one will be nominated by the Presidnet, and the ruling parties decided to pick Durga Paudel, who lost the 2022 election in Pyuthan in the President-nominated seat.
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