Candidates Caught in 'Heavyweight' Battles Ahead of November Elections

Kathmandu. A total of 3,406 candidates are in the electoral arena for the House of Representatives elections scheduled for February 21.

In some constituencies out of the 165 electoral areas, heavyweight clashes are imminent. Examples include Jhapa-5, Sarlahi-4, and Chitwan-3. In the contest in Jhapa-5, one of the individuals put forward by parties as a potential Prime Minister will inevitably face defeat, which is why all eyes are currently focused on this area. Intense competition is expected in this constituency between CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli and the senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Balen (Balendra) Shah.

Similarly, Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa is a candidate in Sarlahi-4. He is facing off against Amresh Kumar Singh, who was previously elected independently from the same area.

Oli has held undisputed sway in Jhapa-5 since 2048 BS, meaning no one has been able to defeat him here except for his loss in the first Constituent Assembly in 2064 BS. Balen, however, is contesting a parliamentary election for the first time. Currently, both Oli and Balen are campaigning door-to-door in Jhapa-5. Discussion among voters is predominantly about these two. Both candidates are busy trying to win over voters. Oli, who did not dedicate much time to his constituency in previous elections, is working diligently this time.

It should be noted that Balen and Oli are not the only candidates in Jhapa-5; there are 24 candidates in the electoral field, including them. Among these, there are 9 independent candidates.

Besides Shah and Oli, Mandhara Chimoriya of the Nepali Congress, Ranjit Tamang of the CPN (Communist Party), Laxmi Prasad Sangraula of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Dhiren Subba of the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Amritlal Mahato of the Janmat Party, San Bahadur Mechhe of the Mongol National Organization, Padam Bahadur Jaggebu of the Nepal Janamukti Party, Sabin Rai of the Rastriya Parivartan Party, and Sushant Sampang Rai of the Federal Democratic National Forum are candidates in Jhapa-5.

Additionally, Samir Tamang of the Shram Sanskriti Party, Sanjay Rai of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Amrit Rasaili of the Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal, and Dharmaraj Guragai of the People First Party are also candidates for the House of Representatives member from Jhapa-5.

Arjun Sapkota, Khem Nath Siwakoti, Dambar Sahu, Prakash Nepal, Pushkar Khatiwada, Matrika Bhattarai, Ranjana Gautam, Bipul Guragai, and Shobha Bhandari have filed independent candidacies from this constituency. The prominence of Congress's Chimoriya and CPN's Tamang appears somewhat less compared to Oli and Balen. The campaigning of the other 20 candidates, apart from these four, has been overshadowed.

Voters often state that the reason for the greater focus on Oli and Balen is that UML has put forward Oli and RSP has put forward Balen as prospective Prime Ministers for the election campaign, causing other candidates to be overlooked.

Similar to Jhapa-5, in Sarlahi-4, candidates other than Congress's Gagan and RSP's Amresh have been overshadowed. Congress has put forward Gagan as a future Prime Minister. Amresh, on the other hand, was elected twice on a Congress ticket and once as an independent candidate from Sarlahi-4 in the previous three elections.

As an RSP wave is visible across the country, Gagan has moved from Kathmandu-4 to Sarlahi-4. This is why this constituency is currently receiving much attention. Furthermore, if Gagan is defeated in the election, his path to becoming Prime Minister for this term will be closed. Questions may also be raised about the Congress party he leads. Therefore, much interest is growing in Sarlahi-4.

In Sarlahi-4, 30 candidates are contesting, including 13 from political parties and 17 independents, with Gagan and Amresh among them. Despite having so many candidates here, the discussion revolves around Gagan and Amresh.

Candidates from political parties in Sarlahi-4 include Amaniskumar Yadav from CPN-UML, Rajnis Rai from the Communist Party of Nepal, Pradip Kumar Jha from RPP, Rameshwar Rai Yadav from Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Rakeshkumar Mishra from Janmat Party, Ramcharitra Sahani from Prolopa, Ramnath Prasad Sah from Nepal Communist Party (United), Pitambar Singh Kushwah from Ujyalo Nepal Party, Harinandan Kumar Ranjan from Bahujan Ekta Party Nepal, Udayakant Mishra from Rastriya Mukti Party, and Rinkikumari Sah from Aam Janata Party.

Congress has won the most elections from Sarlahi-4.

Independents contesting here include Ajay Ojha, Amitranjan Singh, Ambuj Prasad Sah, Arvindkumar Thakur, Kamlesh Mandal, Ganeshprasad Singh, Chunchun Bhandari, Chhotelal Kumar Yadav, Jayashankar Singh Kushwah, Dhiraj Thakur, Narendrapasad Singh, Nileshkumar Yadav, Madhumala Kumari Yadav, Maheshmandal Dhanuk, Mukeshprasad Kushwaha, Raman Mishra, and Ramprovesh Yadav.