KATHMANDU, May 7: Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has fielded his candidacy for the upcoming by-elections for a vacant post from Bagmati Province in the National Assembly (NA).
Thapa filed his nomination on behalf of the ruling CPN-UML. He was proposed by Bagmati Province Chief Minister Dormani Poudel and seconded by province’s Social Development Minister Saraswati Basnet.
Devkota leading vote count, UML’s Thapa trailing behind
Thapa reached provincial capital, Hetauda via helicopter to register his candidacy shortly after the party’s informal Standing Committee meeting decided to field his candidacy for the by-election scheduled for May 20.
An opposition alliance including the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center), Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) and even UML’s Nepal-Khanal faction has fielded the candidacy of Dr Khimlal Devkota for the same position. Dr Devkota, an expert on federalism, was proposed by Parliament Party leader of the Maoist Center in Bagmati Province, Shalikram Jammar Kattel. Dr Devkota’s candidacy was seconded by Radha Ghale, NC’s Chief Whip in the province.
The seat in the 59-member upper house of parliament fell vacant after the Maoist Center sacked its lawmaker Ram Bahadur Thapa after he decided to be part of the Oli-led CPN -UML.
There are a total of 348 voters in the Bagmati Provincial Assembly, including 239 chiefs and deputy chiefs of 119 local levels and 110 provincial assembly members from 66 constituencies in Bagmati Province, said Provincial Election Officer Dilli Ratna Shrestha. According to him, two polling stations will be set up at Bhutan Devi Secondary School in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City.
