Kathmandu— Candidacy registration for the direct election phase of the House of Representatives Election–2082 is underway across the country on Tuesday. The Election Commission has fixed the registration schedule from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at election offices in all 165 constituencies nationwide.
As the process begins, several heavyweight political leaders have reached their constituencies to file nominations, while some have opted out of the race altogether.
Deuba Opts Out
Outgoing Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will not contest the upcoming February 21 elections. His personal secretary Bhanu Deuba confirmed the decision in a midnight press note.
Deuba had been continuously elected from Dadeldhura since 2048 BS. Although the local Congress committee had recommended him as a single candidate for a final electoral contest, political developments following the party’s second special general convention prompted his withdrawal.
Major Candidates and Constituencies
- Gagan Kumar Thapa, newly elected Nepali Congress President, is contesting from Sarlahi-4, shifting from Kathmandu-4.
- KP Sharma Oli, Chairman of CPN-UML, is contesting from Jhapa-5, a constituency he previously won with a wide margin.
This time, Oli faces a major challenge from Balendra Shah (Balen) of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who resigned as Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor to enter the race.
- Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), is contesting from Rukum East, the historic center of the Maoist movement.
- Rabi Lamichhane, President of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSS) and former Home Minister, is contesting again from Chitwan-2, where he won both the 2079 general election and the 2080 by-election.
- Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, former Prime Minister, is contesting from Gorkha-2 under the Progressive Democratic Party’s election symbol.
- Kulman Ghising, former minister in the post-Gen-Z Movement government, is contesting his first parliamentary election from Kathmandu-3 under the Ujyaala Nepal Party.
- Harka Sampang, former mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City, is contesting from Sunsari-1 under the Labor Culture Party (Mato) after resigning from office.
- Renu Dahal, former mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City and daughter of Prachanda, is contesting from Chitwan-3 on an NCP ticket.
- CK Raut, Chairman of the Janamat Party, is contesting from Saptari-2, where he previously defeated JSP Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav.
- Rajendra Lingden, Chairman of RPP, is contesting from Jhapa-3, while Kamal Thapa is contesting from Kathmandu-5.
- Shankar Pokharel, UML General Secretary, is contesting from Dang-2.
- Pradeep Poudel, Nepali Congress General Secretary, is contesting from Kathmandu-5, facing UML leader Ishwor Pokharel.
Most senior leaders have already reached their constituencies to file nominations, while a few are expected to complete the process through authorized representatives as permitted by election law.
