The Nepali Congress has finalized its candidates for the upcoming National Assembly election, moving ahead with an electoral understanding alongside the CPN-UML and the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal.
As part of the agreement reached among the three parties, the Nepali Congress will contest nine seats, while CPN-UML will field candidates for eight seats and Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal will take one seat.
Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak said the arrangement was reached through discussions aimed at ensuring cooperation in the National Assembly election. According to the party’s decision, Sunil Bahadur Thapa will contest from Koshi Province. From Madhes Province, the Congress has nominated Dhanendra Paswan and Ranjit Karn.
Gita Devkota has been selected from Bagmati Province, while Jagat Timilsina will represent the party in Gandaki Province. In Lumbini Province, Basudev Jangali and Chandra Bahadur KC have been named as candidates. Lalit Jung Shahi has been nominated from Karnali Province, and Khamm Bahadur Khati will contest from Sudurpaschim Province.
Party leaders say the selection process involved internal consultations within the Nepali Congress. Candidates were finalized through discussions between party President Sher Bahadur Deuba and senior leader Shekhar Koirala.
Party General Secretary Gagan Thapa was also requested to suggest names for the National Assembly race, but he chose not to be part of the seat-sharing process and did not submit any names, according to a member of the party’s Central Executive Committee. The same source said three candidates were proposed from the Shekhar Koirala camp.
The Nepali Congress is contesting the election in coordination with CPN-UML and Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal after earlier attempts to build a wider consensus failed. Party leaders had initially explored the possibility of including the Nepali Communist Party in a broader agreement, but talks broke down over seat distribution, prompting the Congress to move ahead with its current allies.
Meanwhile, CPN-UML has finalized its candidates in all provinces except Madhes, while Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal is preparing to nominate Mahanta Thakur as its sole candidate.
Nomination filing for the National Assembly election is taking place today, with candidates required to register between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The election will be held to fill 18 seats that will fall vacant from February 20, with voting scheduled for January 11.
