Deposits Forfeited for 22 Candidates in Tanahun House of Representatives Election

Tanahun. The deposits of 22 candidates competing in the House of Representatives election in Tanahun have been forfeited. The District Election Office stated that the deposits of 14 candidates were forfeited in Tanahun Constituency No. 1 and eight in Tanahu Constituency No. 2.

District Election Officer Bikash Lamsal informed that among the 16 candidates in Tanahun Constituency No. 1, the deposits of Bhagwati Neupane of CPN-UML, Bidyanaath Dhakal of the Communist Party of Nepal, Ramdutta Joshi of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Ramlaxmi Duwal of Nepal Workers' and Peasants' Party, Prem Bahadur Thapa of Mongol National Organization, and Yam Bahadur Ale of Nepal Janamukti Party were forfeited.

According to him, the deposits of Suman Thapa Magar of National Republic Nepal, Kashiram Gurung of Shram Sanskriti Party, Om Bikram Pant of Communist Party of Nepal, Manjil Rana of Ujyalo Nepal Party, Chijamaya Adhikari of Aam Janata Party, independent candidates Deepakraj Joshi, Lekhnath Khanal, and Sandesh Rnabhat Laudari were also forfeited.

Govinda Bhattarai of the Nepali Congress, the closest competitor to the victorious Deputy Chairman of Rastriya Swatantra Party and elected House of Representatives member Dr. Swarnim Wagle in Tanahun 1, managed to save his deposit despite being defeated.

While Wagle secured 38,040 votes, Bhattarai received 16,231 votes, and CPN-UML's competitor Bhagwati Neupane secured 5,830 votes. Neupane's vote count was not enough to save her deposit.

Out of a total of 126,882 voters in Tanahun 1, 68,149 votes were cast. The District Election Office stated that 65,419 of these were valid, while 2,030 votes were rejected.

Similarly, in Constituency No. 2, out of 11 candidates who filed nominations, the deposits of Sombahadur Thapa of the Communist Party of Nepal, Yam Bahadur Thakuri of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Laxman Adhikari of Nepal Workers' and Peasants' Party, Sushma Ale of Mongol National Organization, Purnabahadur Rana of Nepal Janamukti Party, Ganesh Bahadur Lamgade of the Communist Party of Nepal, and Lalbahadur Saki (Gotame) of Rastriya Janamukti Party were forfeited, informed District Election Officer Lamsal.

In Tanahun 2, Ramchandra Neupane of RSP won by securing 32,687 votes. His competitors, Shankar Bhandari of the Nepali Congress and Kedar Sigdel of CPN-UML, were defeated but managed to retain their deposits. The victorious RSP's Ramchandra Neupane's competitors, Shankar Bhandari of the Nepali Congress, received 14,135 votes, and Kedar Sigdel of CPN-UML received 11,668 votes.

In Tanahun-2, out of 127,515 voters, a total of 66,101 votes were cast. The District Election Office stated that 62,509 votes were valid, while 3,532 votes were rejected. A deposit of Rs. 10,000 must be submitted when filing nominations for the House of Representatives election.

There is a provision for a 50 percent discount on this deposit amount for female, Dalit or minority community, or economically disadvantaged candidates. Candidates who receive less than 10 percent of the total valid votes in the constituency do not get their deposit back. This is referred to as 'deposit forfeiture.'

---