33 Candidates Vie for Parliamentary Seat in Sunsari Constituency-4 Ahead of February 21 Election

Sunsari. A total of 33 candidates are competing in the election for the House of Representatives in Sunsari Constituency No. 4, scheduled for February 21. Candidates from the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (UML), Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Shram Sanskriti Party, Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal, and independent candidates are in the fray.

The candidates include Gyanendra Bahadur Karki from the Nepali Congress (former minister), Jagdish Prasad Kushiyat from UML, Mohammad Mahfuz Ansari from CPN, Deepak Kumar Sah from RSP, Sabita Yadav from JSP, and Bishnu Rana from Shram Sanskriti Party. Karki, representing the Nepali Congress, has been elected from this constituency twice before. He is campaigning with development, stability, and economic prosperity as his main agenda.

Karki, who won the 2074 BS House of Representatives election by securing 32,347 votes, won the 2079 BS election by a margin of 112 votes against UML candidate Kushiyat. “I have been contributing to education, health, drinking water, road and bridge construction, control of Saptakoshi river erosion, upliftment of marginalized communities, and sports development. I have entered the electoral field to complete unfinished work,” he stated.

UML candidate Kushiyat has served as a former minister in the Koshi Province government. Having entered the communist movement through student politics, he is contesting an election for the eighth time.

Kushiyat stated that he is competing in the election with the resolve to address the needs of the local people and fulfill the aspirations of a prosperous nation and happy Nepali citizens through good governance.

Kushiyat competed against former Nepali Congress President Giriraj Prasad Koirala in the 2051 BS election. He was elected as a Provincial Assembly member in the 2053 by-election and in 2074 BS.

Ansari, the candidate from CPN, stated that he filed his candidacy to end corruption and address the demands of the youth. According to Prakash Raut, the Chief Election Officer of Sunsari, 34 people had filed nominations in Constituency No. 4.

Later, one person withdrew their candidacy. He informed that among the currently remaining candidates, 17 are from political parties and 16 are independent candidates.

Among them, 29 are male and five are female. Raut stated that the age of the candidates filing nominations in this constituency ranges from 26 to 72 years. Independent candidate Mo Gulab Ansari is the youngest candidate here, while Prem Prasad Bhattarai of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party is the oldest candidate.

Candidates are striving to win votes by convincing people of their agendas. Voters, meanwhile, are mentally prepared to vote for candidates who offer credible commitments to address local needs.

Saroj Mehta, a young voter from Sunsari Constituency No. 4, says, “We need a representative who prioritizes rural development and the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the plan is to only vote for those who provide a basis for solving the problems of youth employment, modernization of agriculture through irrigation facilities, fertilizer, seeds, and market management.”

Constituency No. 4 has 139,330 voters. There are 73,029 male and 66,301 female voters. The election office stated that there are 42 polling stations and 150 voting centers here.

Candidates, currently busy with door-to-door campaigning, have been given time for open campaigning starting from February 4. Keeping this in mind, necessary preparations are being expedited to conduct the election in a fear-free, impartial, and organized manner, said Chief Election Officer Raut.

He informed that approximately 3,744 election employees will be mobilized in the four constituencies of the district. “Coordination is being made with security agencies and relevant stakeholders to arrange voting for voters in a safe environment. We are also urging candidates to campaign within the code of conduct for elections,” he added.